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AUTHENTIC EDITION. 



THE 

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

• OP 

JAMES BUCHANAN, 

PRKIDEXT OF THE UNITED STATES; 

ixcrxuiNO uis 

INAUaUIlAI. AODllESS, 

AND 

THE MOST niPORTANT OF HIS STATE PAPERS. 
BY 11. G. IIOrwTON. 

SJlith :nt '^iccurntc l^orlruit ou .f tcrl. 



NEW YOIIK : 

DERBY cl' JACK SOX, 110 NASSAU ST. 

1860. 



IIS uccording to Act of Congress, In tbe j^u ISK. \r/ 
DERBY A JACKSON, 

I Clerk'i OSca )f the District Court of the Coited Stales, for the Southern District of New YjA. 



W. H. T1N8OH, Stereotj^r, GsassE Russell <!i Co., Printer!. 



PREFACE. 



TiTE history of the statesmen of America is one of 
the most interesting and instructive studies that can 
well employ the mind of a citizen of this free and 
favored land. "While nearly every other country pre- 
sents, as far as political progress is concerned, little more 
than the dead calm of despotism, our own land, under 
the glorious principles of its free Constitution, has given 
every opportunity for that natural conflict hetwecn 
truth and error, which seems to be the established sys- 
tem of the moral universe, and the only means to insure 
the progress of wise and beniticent reforms. Such a 
state of society has, we may say, almost created " anew 
heaven and a new earth," and though its convulsions 
are regarded with amazement by foreign nations, yet 
we may reasonably suppose, it is because they are com- 
paratively strangers to the travail and pains necessary 
to the birth and establishment of new ideas. The pro- 
minent part which Democratic statesmen have acted in 

e 



VI . PREFACE. 

all the leading questions of public policy, which have 
for seventy years divided political parties, and the fact 
that the doctrines they sustained, have without excep- 
tion, now become the settled policy of our government, 
lend an additional interest to their history and opinions. 
Those who have preserved the purity of our republican 
institutions, and resisted every eifort to model om* laws 
after the example of foreign countries, deserve scarcely 
less honor than those who first established them. "We 
think it will be shown in the following pages, that the 
distinguished individual whose life and public services 
have been, we are conscious, but feebly portrayed, has 
borne no humble or insignificant part in these patriotic 
and praiseworthy labors. Let no one, however, expect 
to find in them an elaborate work, or one even commen- 
surate with the just importance of the subject. 

The object of the volume is very simple and definite. 
"When the lion. James Buchanan was nominated on the 
6th of June as a candidate for the Presidency, the 
public of course became interested to receive a more 
full and reliable account of his political opinions, than 
is usually afibrded them in the various newspapers of 
the day. Immediately after his nomination, the writer 
was applied to, to furnish such an account of his Life 
A-ND Public Services, as would promise to meet the 
demands of the time. The limited period allowed for 
the preparation of the volume, and the importance of 
its presentation to the public at as early a day as possi- 
ble, precluded anything like a studied or careful effort, 



PREFACE. VIJ 

such, indeed, as its distinguished subject is eminentlj 
worthy of. Tlic main point has therefore been to pre- 
sent merely the facts of Mr. Bnclianan's career as a 
public man, and to show iiis position upon political 
questions as they have come before him for liis conside- 
ration. As the limits of tlie volume did not admit of 
giving anything like a full report of his public speeches, 
it was thought advisable to present two or three of his 
prominent ones upon important public questions, and 
to limit the extracts from the others mainly to such 
matters as bear upon the issues now before the country. 
As Mr. Buchanan has ever shunned publicity, and 
always been averse to courting public fiivor through the 
press, no account of his life and important public ser- 
vices to his country, through so many years of active 
and devoted labors, has been previously published. 
The writer has, therefore, been compelled to rely 
mostly upon the simple record of the Congressional 
proceedings, and a few leading facts which Mr. B. and 
some of his personal or political friends have been 
kind enough to furnish. It is proper to say, however, 
that while we are confident all the statements in this 
volume, in regard to Mr. Buchanan's private, profes- 
sional or public life, may be fully relied on as correct, 
yet no one is responsible for a single line it contains 
except the writer. 

New York, July 4lh, 1S56. 



TREFACE TO SECOND EDITIOK. 



The election of !Mr. Buclianaa to the Presidency, and 
the continued demand for this vohime, has rendered 
another edition necessary. The work has been care- 
fully revised and brought down to the present time. 
Although prepared for a jDarticular exigency, yet the 
author feels it has a standard value, and that it 
gives a correct and impartial review of the principal 
events of" Mr. Buchanan's life. lie has, also, the satis- 
faction to know that it has received this commenda- 
tion from all parties in politics. He, therefore, desires 
that it may stand or fall upon its merits, whatever they 
are, without being prejudiced by the fact that it first 
appeared at a particular juncture. By avoiding exces- 
sive laudation, as being equally oftensive to its distin- 
guished subject as to the principles of good taste, and 
adhering strictly to the official record of Mr. Buchan- 
an's political career, it is believed the public have, in 
the present volume, a faithful epitome of his most 
important services to his country, and an impartial 
history of the life of our new President. In this spirit 
it is commended to the favorable consideration of the 
sovereign American people. 

New York, March \Zth] 185'7. 



CONTENTS. 



CnAPTER I. 



ilr. Buchanan's Birthplace — Tlis Father and Mother— His Early Education— His Col- 
lege Life — Sperling in the Backwoods — Studies Law — Admission to the Bar — Unpar- 
ralleled Success, 18 



CHAPTER U. 

Mr. Buchanan as Volunteer in the War oflS12 — Election to the Legislature in 1814 
— Ilia Support of the Volunteer System — The Resolutions of the Connecticut aud 
Massachusetts Legislatures in Regard to Naturalized Citizens — Re-election to th« 
Legislature in 1SI5 — The Charge of Federalism, 20 



CHAPTER in. 

Military Appropriations — Bankrupt Bill — Internal Improvements — The Tariff Ques> 
t^OQS, 31 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Tariff Act — Reception of Lafayette — The Niagara Sufferers — The Eection of John 
Quincy Adams, ,63 



CHAPTER V. 
Judiciary Syatera — Mission to Panama — Surviving Officers of Uie Revolution, . 78 

CHAPTER VI. 

Retrenchment — Mr. Adams' Administration — Dress of Foreign Ministers — Naturaliwtloa 

Laws— Retirement of Mr. Macon, 89 

9 



X CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER vn. 

Election of Gen. Jackson to the Presidency — The Impeachment of Judge Peck — 5Ir. 
Buchanan's Celebrated Speech thereupon, 98 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Mr. Buchanan's Ten Years in Congress — New Issues — Opposition to Sectionalism — 
Defence of the Freedom of the Press — Mission to Russia — Election to the United 
States Senate 136 

CHAPTER IX. 

French Reprisals — Executive Patronage — Mr. Clay and Mr. Buchanan — Conclusion of 
Twenty-third Congress, 142 

CHAPTER X. 

New Aspect of the Slavery Question — Incendiary Publications — Abolition of Slavery in 
the District of Columbia — Affairs of Texas — Sufferers by Great Fire in New York, 150 

CHAPTER XI. 

Twenty-fourth Congress continued — Relations with France — Specie Payments — Ad- 
mission of Micliigan and Arkansas, . . 163 

CHAPTER XII. 

Second Session of Twenty-fourth Congress — Specie Circular — Expunging Resolutions — 
Mr. Buchanan's Speech upon them, 177 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Mr. Van Buren's Administration — The Extra Session— Mr. Buchanan's Speech on the 
Sub-Treasury Bill 213 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Expunging Resolution — Relations with Mc.xico — A New National Bank — Mr. Bucha- 
nan's Speech on Pre-emption Rights— Yhe Slavery Question— Resurrection Notes — 
The Independent Treasury, 236 

CHAPTER XV. 

Twenty-fifth Congress — The Last Session — Interference of Federal Officers in Election. 
— Mr. Buchanan's Speech, 261 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Twenty-sixth Congress — The Independent Treasury — Mr. Buchanan's great 
Speech — His reply to Hon. John Davis, ?S4 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XVII. 

An Extra Session of Congress called— Death of Gen. Ilarrison— Accession of Jolin 
Tyler— The Fiscal B.ink— The Fiscal Corporation— Mr. Buchanan's Speeches on these 
Measures — Mr. Clay's Kcply— Mr. Buchanan's Rejoinder, .... 810 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Second Session of the Twenty-seventh Congress— The Veto Power— Mr. Buchanan's 
Speech in Reply to Mr. Clay— The Board of Exchequer— Mr. Buchanan's Speech— Mr. 

Clay's Retirement from the Senate — Third Session of the Twenty-seventh Congress 

The Webster Treaty g43 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Twenty-Eighth Congress— Territorial Government in Oregon— Annexation of Texas 
—The Election of James K. Polk, 851 

CHAPTER XX. 

Mr. Buchanan as Secretary of State — The War with Mexico — The Oregon Boundary 
Negotiation- Treaty with Mexico — The Acquisition of California — The Irish Revolu- 
tion of 1S48 — Mr. Buchanan's Denial of Britisli Demands, .... 806 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Ten years in the Senate— A Review of Mr. Buchanan's Senatorial Life — Tils Position on 
the Bank Question — As a Friend of Gen. Jackson — The true Test of Statesmanship — 
The Slavery Question — The Proscription of Foreigners — Mr. Buchanan's Four Years 
as Secretary of State, 865 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Mr. Buchanan in private life — Opposition to the Wilmot Proviso— Approval of the 
Compromise Measures — Mr. Buchanan's position in 1S5'2 — Mission to England — Ti.e 
Enlistment Question — The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty— The Ostend Meeting — Mr. 
Buchanan's return to the United States — His reception, S!2 

CHAPTER XXllI. 

Mr. Buchanan brought forward for the Presidency — His Nomination at Cincinnati- - 
The National Democratic Platform — Letter of the Comnuttee officially announcinjf 
the Nomination — Mr. Buchanan's Repiy, 4u3 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Mr. Buchanan at Home, 419 

CHAPTER XXV. 

ADDITIONAL. 

The Progress of the Election— The Issues Involved— The Final Result— The Election of 
Mr. Buchanan — The Rejoicings of the Democracy— The Inauguration Ceremonies— 
The Inaugural Address — Sketches of the Cabinet Officers 428 



THE 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER I . 

Mr. Buchanan's Birthplace — His Father and Mother— His Early Education — His Col- 
lege Life — Sporting In the Backwoods — Studies Law — Admission to the Bar — Unpar- 
ralleled Success. 

James Bcchaxan was born at a place called Stony Batter, 
in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, at the foot of the eastern 
ridge of the Allcghanies, on the 23d day of April, 1791. Frank- 
lin County borders on the State of Maryland, and the greater 
part of it consists of a broad limestone yallcy, watered with 
copious and unfailing mountain springs, and having a soil of 
unsurpassed fertility. The immense range of mountains known 
as the Allcghanies, which commences in the northern part of 
Georgia and Alabama, and runs generally in uniform ridges to 
the northeastern part of New York, is in Franklin County 
divided into an irregular series of rocky, broken eminences. 
The South Mountain, a continuation of the Blue Ridge of 
Virgmia, forms its boundary on the east, and Tuscarora or 

18 



1-i LIFE AND SEEYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Cove Mountain, on the northwest. The highest pomts of the 
Cove Mountain are estimated at fifteen hundred feet above the 
valley. The spot where Mr. Buchanan first saw the light of 
day is situated in a wild and romantic gorge of this mountain. 
The towering summits of the eternal hills surround it, and 
slope down like the sides of an amphitheatre. A beautiful 
stream of water, clear as the crystal fountain from which it 
flows, meanders through what was once a cleared field, not far 
from his humble birthplace. The remains of the old Buchanan 
cabin are still to be seen, although little is left but the chim- 
ney. They lie to the north of the Mercersburg and McCon- 
nellsburg turnpike, but within sight, and about three miles 
from the village of Mercersburg. It is a lovely spot, and the 
scenery has all those elements of grandeur and sublimity which 
serve to inspire in youthful minds noble aspirations and exalted 
patriotism. Such places have been those where a majority of 
our great men have been born and reared. The early struggles 
necessary to contend with the rugged inequalities of nature, 
have developed a hardy constitution, inspired them with honest 
ambition, and taught them in early life those invaluable lessons 
of self-denial which are the foundation of all true excellence 
of character. 

Mr. Buchanan's father was James Buchanan, a native of the 
County of Donegal, in the north of Ireland, who emigrated to 
the United States in the year 1783. He was a poor man when 
he came to America, but with a vigorous arm, an industrious 
spirit, and untiring perseverance, he acquired before his death 
a handsome competency. Five years after his arrival he mar- 
ried Elizabeth Speer, the daughter of a respectable farmer of 
Adams County, Pennsylvania. At that time the broad and 
beautiful valleys of Franklin County were comparatively a 
wilderness, but Mr. Buchanan sought them, and with his young 
wife became a pioneer in American civilization. Having 
" staked his claim," and erected a rude log cabin, his own right 
arm felled the trees that allowed the sunlight of heaven to fall 



niS FATDEK AND WOTIJEK. 15 

npon the little clearing that surrounded his humble home. In 
this log-cabin was llie present James Buchanan born, and there 
he continued to reside until he was eight years of age. No 
one would have suspected, had they then seen the log-cabin 
boy wandering through the primeval forests, awe-struck at 
the strange, weird scenes which met his gaze, that he would 
one day hold listening Senates in attention, and stand among 
the leading statesmen of America. What a commentary do 
not such facts present upon our free and glorious institutions ! 

Mr. Buchanan's father was a prominent man in the county 
where he resided, and exercised a large share of influence. 
He had an excellent English education, and so fully understood 
tlie advantages to be derived from one of a more liberal char- 
acter, tliat he early resolved that his son should receive it. 
The mother of Mr. Buchanan was a woman of uncommon 
intellect. Although she had not enjoyed the advantages of a 
superior education, she was distinguished for her masculine 
sense, and remarkable literary taste. It is a singular fact, that 
although she had never read a criticism on any of the standard 
poets, she had selected, and could repeat from memory all the 
striking passages in Pope, Cowper, Milton, and other promi- 
nent English poets. She was also a woman of the most exalted 
and enlightened piety, and to her influence in forming his 
character and implanting those fundamental principles of con- 
duct which underUe all true greatness is her son, James Bu- 
chanan, indebted for his present distinction. It is a common 
remark, that all great men have superior mothers ; whether 
such be the fact, or whether the idea has arisen from a pardon- 
able partiality of all men for one who was their earliest protector 
and most devoted friend, we cannot say. But surely in tVie 
case of James Buchanan, the remark is strictly true, and no 
unmeaning compliment. 

In 1798, Mr. Buchanan's father removed with his family to 
the village of Mercersburg, where his son received his early 
education in English, Latin, and Greek. His progress in hia 



16 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN". 

studies was exceedingly rapid, and lie early gave indications 
of a remarkably strong and comprehensive mind. At the age 
of fourteen, he entered Dickinson College at Carlisle, in Cumber- 
land county, then under the presidency of Dr. Davidson. Here 
he immediately took rank among the most indefatigable stu- 
dents, and rapidly rose in the estimation of his teachers as well 
as his fellow pupils. The acquisition of learning was to him 
not at all difficult, and he mastered the most abstruse subjects 
with the utmost facility. The breadth and energy of his mind 
seemed to grasp everything as if by intuition, and to hold it 
with great tenacity. It was often remarked of him, that he 
never went to recitation unprepared. He did not merely learn 
his lesson, but he conquered it, and so fully and completely 
elaborated it, that it became his own. While, however, he was 
a great student, his exuberant flow of animal spirits made him 
enthusiastic in all kinds of relaxation and amusement. He some- 
times surprised the faculty by his practical jokes, and upon 
one occasion was severely reprimanded for some youthful 
prank that was considered contrary to the strict rules of col- 
legiate propriety. There was nothing, however, in his amuse- 
ments, but what was strictly the result of a desire for mere 
fun ; the kindness of his disposition, and the evenness of his 
temper precluding any thought of anger or malignity. 

While in college, he was a member of the Union P. Society, 
a literary body connected with the institution. All the mem- 
bers of this society were particularly attached to him, and he 
became its favorite, as, indeed, he was of the entire college. 
He enjoyed all the honors conferred by this society, and at 
Commencement was presented by its unanimous vote to the 
faculty for the highest collegiate honors. He graduated in 
1809, at the age of eighteen. 

At this period of his life, Mr. Buchanan was tall, slender, 
and graceful. He had been cradled in poverty, and at all 
tunes inured to hardships and toil. He exercised much in the 
open air, and the forests of Pennsylvania often resounded with 



STL" ores LAW. 17 

the crack of the rifle of the young sportsman, who, at an early 
age, like nearly all Americans, learned how to use this sharp- 
shooting weapon. So dexterous was he with his rifle, that 
like a true back-woodsman, he considered it a disgrace to go 
home with squirrels or similar game, unless the ball had been 
sent with unerring precision directly through the head. His 
studies had expanded his mind, while his labors and recrea- 
tions had given strength to his body, and already laid the firm 
foundation for a long life of uniform health. There can be no 
doubt that his vigorous, early training has been the means of 
giving him that wonderful endurance, which so remarkably 
distinguished him in after-life as a public man. The amount of 
labor he can perform is perfectly astonishing, and has always 
been remarked by all who have known him, both while engaged 
in his profession and in his duties in Congress. 

lu December, 1809, Mr. Buchanan commenced the study of 
the law in the office of James Hopkins, Esq., of Lancaster 
city, an eminent lawyer, and a prominent, valuable, and much- 
respected citizen. lie was admitted to the bar November 17 th, 
1812, when he was a little over twenty-one years of age. He 
inuucdiately rose rapidly in his profession. He came to the 
bar of his native State when Pennsylvania was distinguished 
far and wide for the superior ability of her lawyers. She could 
boast then of her Baldwins, her Gibsons, her Rosses, her Dun- 
cans, her Breckinridgcs, her Dallases, and her Scmples, who 
shed not only honor upon their own State, but who added 
materially to the legal reputation of the whole country. With 
such men as these Mr. Buchanan was compelled to struggle for 
that enuuence in his profession which he subsequently attained, 
and so firmly kept. Perhaps we do not go too far in saying, 
that there never has been in our country an instance of so 
rapid a rise in the legal profess* on as that aff'orded in his case. 
From the day he was admitted until he finally retired from the 
eual profession, his was a series of successive triumphs. He was 
'^oor, and necessity demanded that exertion which soon made 



IS LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

Mm the rival and equal of the best lawyers in his State. He 
was engaged in all important causes tried in Dauphin, York, 
and other neighboring counties, and his name appears in the 
Pennsylvania Reports more frequently than that of any other 
lawyer of his day. 

In the session of 1816-17 of the Pennsylvania State Senate, 
when he was only twenty-six years of age, he defended, unas- 
sisted by senior counsel, a distinguished judge of his Strte, who 
was tried upon articles of impeachment, and was successful. 
At the age of thirty he had risen to the highest class of legal 
minds, and commanded a practice more enviable and more 
extensive than that of any other lawyer in the State. At this 
time, however, he yielded to the urgent and repeated solicita- 
tions of his friends, and consented to become a candidate for 
Congress. He was elected, and continued in the same position 
for ten years, when he peremptorily declined a re-election. 
He occasionally, during the vacations of Congress, tried some 
important cause, which, from past associations, or other rea- 
sons, he did not feel at liberty to decline. He retired, however, 
from his profession altogether in 1831, having accumulated 
a competence by his steady devotion to business and the supe- 
riority in his profession, which his commanding talents had given 
him. Avarice being no trait in Mr. Buchanan's character, he 
gladly sought repose from business, when Providence had 
blessed his labors with the realization of the sincere prayer of 
Agar, " give me neither poverty nor riches." When he retired 
he left more business than any one man could attend to. Thus 
had the log-cabin-boy, born in a wild and rocky gorge of the 
Alleghany Mountains, at the early age of forty years, been the 
architect of his own fortune, and become the admiration and 
pride of his native State. 

Once only after he left his profession, could he be prevailed 
upon to again appear at the bar. This was in the cause of an 
aged widow, where he was appealed to by the most earnest 
solicitations. It was an action of ejectment which involved 



TINPAKALLELED SUCCESS 19 

all her little property. Tlie case was a cliOicult one, and 
technically decidedly against the unfortunate woman. To iho 
surprise and astonishment of every one, he succeeded in estab- 
lishing her title to the property in question. The poor woman 
was intoxicated with joy, and overwhelmed her benefactor 
with expressions of gratefulness, and offers of remuneration. 
Mr. Buchanan, however, would accept notlung for hi? ser- 
vices. 



20 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BrCnAI3"AN. 



CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Buchanan as Volunteer in the War oflS12 — Election to the Legislature in 1814 
— liis Support of the Volunteer System — Tlie Resolutions of the Connecticut and 
Massachusetts Legislatures in Regard to Naturalized Citizens — Re-election to the 
Legislature in 1815 — The Charge of Federalism. 

Mr. Buchaxax early signalized his devotion to liis country 
by acts as well as words. During the war of 1812 with Great 
Britain, the English army, after having sacked the city of 
Washington, threatened to attack Baltimore. The high-handed 
and outrageous act of destroying the public buildings at 
Washington lighted up a flame of indignant patriotism, which 
overspread the whole country. A public meeting was called in 
Lancaster in 1814, for the purpose of obtaining volunteers to 
march to the defence of Baltimore. On that occasion I^[r. 
Buchanan addressed his fellow-citizens in a speech of great 
ability, in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war, which 
he followed up by registering his name as a volunteer, the first 
with a number of other young and patriotic hearts. His 
country called for his services, and, throwing his law books 
aside, the stripling lawyer thus enrolled himself as a private 
soldier, willing to take any place if he could but defend the 
interests of his native laud. The company was commanded 
by Judge Henry Shippen. They marched to Baltimore, and 
served under the command of Major Charles Sterret Ridgeley 
until they were honorably discharged This early stand of Mr. 
Buchanan in favor of the war of 1812, will show his feelmgs 



TIIK HARTFOKD CONVENTION CALUMNY. 21 

at that day, and at a time when tlie country ncodod tlie stroijg 
anus and stout hearts of its citizens. How senseless and 
calumnious, then, has been the story that Mr. Buchanan united 
^\ith the federalists in opposing the war, and who, about the 
very time that he was shouldering his musket, and assisting to 
defend the honor and interests of his country, were meeting in 
a convention at Hartford to make peace with England without 
the consent of the United States 1 The whole cause of this 
calumny is noticed in a frank and manly letter written by Mr. 
Buchanan in 184T, after taking a seat in Mr. Polk's cabinet, 
as fallows : 

Washisgtos, April 23, l&tT. 

" My dear sir : I have this moment received you letter of 
the 15th inst., and hasten to return an answer. 

" In one respect, I have been fortunate as a public man. My 
political enemies are obliged to go back for more than thu'ty 
years to find plausible charges against me. 

" lu 1814, when a very young man (being this day 56 years 
of age), I made my first public speech before a meeting of my 
fellow-citizens of Lancaster. The ol)jcct of this speech was to 
urge upon them the duty of volunteering their services in 
defence of their invaded country. A volunteer company was 
raised upon the spot, in which I was the first, I believe, to 
enter my name as a private. "VVe forthwith proceeded to Bal- 
timore, and served until we were honorably discharged. 
"In October, 1814, I was elected a member of the Pennsyl- 
vania legislature ; and in that body gave my support to every 
measure calculated, in my opinion, to aid the country against 
the common enemy. 

" In 1815, after peace had been concluded, I did express 
opinions in relation to the causes and conduct of the war, 
which I very soon after regretted and recalled. Since that 
period I have been ten years a member of the House of Repre- 



22 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

sentatives, and an equal time of the Senate, acting a part on 
every great question. My political enemies, finding nothing 
assailable throughout this long public career, now resort back 
to my youthful years, for expressions to injure my poUtical 
character. The brave and generous citizens of Tennessee, to 
whatever political party they may belong, will agree that this 
is a hard measure of justice ; and it is still harder that, for 
this reason, they should condemn the President for having 
voluntarily offered me a seat in his cabinet. 

" I never deemed it proper, at any period of my life, whilst 
the country was actually engaged in a war with a foreign 
enemy to utter a sentiment which could interfere with its suc- 
cessful prosecution. Whilst the war with Great Britain was 
raging, I should have deemed it little better than moral treason 
to paralyze the arm of the government whilst dealing blows 
against the enemy. After peace was concluded, the case was 
then different. My enemies cannot point to an expression 
uttered by me, during the continuance of the war, which was 
not favorable to its vigorous prosecution. 

" From your friend, very respectfully, 

" James Buchanan." 
IIox. George W. Jones. 

Mr. Buchanan's active friendship m behalf of his country did 
not stop with his volunteer campaign. He was elected, in 
October, 1814, to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and there 
assumed the same fearless and patriotic course which had 
distinguished him throughout the war. An attack was threat- 
ened against the city of Philadelphia. The general govern- 
ment was reduced nearly to a state of bankruptcy, and could 
scarcely raise sufficient money to maintain the regular troops on 
the remote frontiers of the country. Pennsylvania was obhged to 
rely upon her own resources for defence, and the people were ready 
to do their utmost in the cause. Two plans were proposed in 



HE SUPPOliTS TUE VOLUNTEER SYSTEM. 23 

the Legislature ; the one was what was called the " couscri[)- 
tioD bill," and similar to that which was rejected by Congress, 
by which it was proposed to divide the white male inhabi- 
tants of the State, above the age of eighteen, into classes of 
twenty-two men each, and to designate one man from the 
members of each class, who should serve one year, each class 
being compelled to raise a sum of money not exceeding $200, 
as a bounty to the conscript. During the discussion of these 
two plans, Mr. IJuchanan took an active and highly patriotic 
stand. In the course of the debate, he said : 

" Since, then, Congress has deserted us in our time of need, 
there is no alternative but either to protect ourselves by some 
efficient measures, or surrender up that independence which has 
been purchased by the blood of our forefathers. No American 
can hesitate which of these alternatives ought to be adopted. 
The invading enemy must be expelled from our shores ; he 
must be taught to respect the rights of freemen. 

* 5k * * * * 

"We need not be afraid to trust to the patriotism or 
courage of the people of this country when they are invaded. 
Let them have good militia officers, and they will soon be 
equal to any troops in the world. Have not our volun- 
teers and mihtia under General Jackson covered themselves 
with glory ? Have not our volunteers and militia on the 
Niagara frontier fought in such a manner as to merit the 
gratitude of the nation ? Is it to be supposed that the same 
spirit of patriotism would animate the man who is dragged out 
by a conscription law to defend his country, that the volunteer 
or militia men would feel ?'' 

This noble stand, so early taken by Mr. Buchanan, displays 
a patriotic love of country and shows, even at this early time, 
his confidence in the people. 



•24- LIFE AND SERVICES OF JA^^IES BUCHANAN. 

Mr. Buchanan assumed a position at this time, upon tbe 
question of the proscription of naturalized citizens, a position 
he lias, through all the fluctuating changes of politics for forty 
years since, consistently adhered to. The governors of Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut transmitted to the governor of Penn- 
sylvania, and by him sent to the legislature of his own State, 
resolutions recommending certain amendments to the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, among which was the following : 

" That no person who shall be hereafter naturalized shall be 
eligible as a member of the Senate or the House of Eepresenta- 
tives of the United States, nor capable of holding any civil 
office under the authority of the United States." 

A committee was appointed to report upon this, among their 
other resolutions. They disapproved of every resolution sent ; 
but we only give as much of their report as relates to the one 
we have quoted. It is as follows : 

" It may be fairly questioned whether the total esclusiot 
proposed is generous to others, or wise to ourselves. The 
revolutions of Europe may hereafter drive, as they have 
already driven, many an honorable and distinguished exile to 
the shelter of our hospitality. The distance which separates 
him from his native country is some guarantee that he has not 
chosen his new residence from any motive of levity, but from 
deliberate choice, and when he has abjured his allegiance to 
that country, when his fortunes and family are fixed among 
us, when he has closed all the avenues to his return, when a 
long probation has evinced his attachment to our institutions, 
why should his miiyl continue still in exile and why should the 
natural and honorable ambition for political distinction be 
extinguished for ever in his breast? Why, too, should wo 
deprive ourselves of the choice of such a man, whose European 



THE KATURAMZATION LAWS. 25 

experience may l)e useful, if the deliberate voice of the cora- 
ninnity is iu his favor? Other nations do not indulge in so 
jealous au exclusion There is scarcely a nation iu Europe 
which does not haiiitually employ the talents of strangers, 
■;\herevcr they can be most useful. 

" Even in England, the most fastidious of all the nations of 
Europe, with regard to strangers, naturalization is in many 
respects more easy than iu the United States. Many of the 
restrictions on aliens may be at once removed by act of 
parliament, or by the mere wish of the crown ; and we can 
readily call to our recollection, even within the present reign, 
several officers of high rank, both civil and military, employed 
in important and confidential stations, by the government of that 
country. In the United States, moreover, we enjoy a greater 
security than other nations, from the deliberation with which the 
choice of our country must be made ; the probationary term 
of residence, and the certainty that no foreigner can rise to 
power, but by the voluntary suffrage of the community. 

" The number of foreigners now iu office does not threaten 
any inconvenience, and even that number will no doubt rapidly 
diminish. Out of 182 representatives in Congress, there are, it 
is believed, not more than four who were born out of the limits 
of the United States, and in the Senate, not one member. In 
one respect, too, the operation of the amendment would be 
injurious, by preventing the employment of American consuls, 
natives of the countries in which they reside — a practice almost 
universal among commercial nations. The natural and prudent 
precautions against foreign inQuence will, therefore, probably 
be satisfied, by requiring a long uovitiate to wean a stranger 
from foreign modes of thinking, and insure his attachment to 
onr institutions, and after that ordeal is past, leaving him a 
fair competition with native talents for political advancement ; 
a competition in which the natural bias in favor of our own 
couutryraeu wUl insure them at least an equal chance of suo 

2 



26 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

cess. The committee therefore recommend a clisseut from th« 
proposed ameudmeDt." 

The novitiate required at that time was five years, tlie same 
as at present, and yet this committee did uot see fit to recom- 
mend any alteration, but even referred to five years as a long 
novitiate ; for it will be remembered that during a portion of 
Washington's administration the term had been but two years. 
Mr. Buchanan concurred fully in this report, indeed it was 
unanimously adopted in both houses. 

In October, 1815, Mr. Buchanan was again elected to the 
legislature, and again he distinguished himself by a patriotic 
love of country, and by a devotion to its honor and interests 
which won for him the universal applause of his constituents, 
"'t is well known that no State has ever shown a more earnest 
love for the Union than Pennsylvania. Instead of endeavoring 
to embarrass the general government in its delicate and often 
difficult duties, it has when necessity demanded it, come to its 
assistance. At this session of the legislature a bill was brought 
in appropriating the sum of $300,000 as a loan 'o the United 
States to pay the militia and the volunteers of that State, in 
the United States service. The general goverimient had l>een 
on the verge of bankruptcy, and this patriotic action on the part 
of Pennsylvania was as noble as its remembrance will ever be 
grateful, to every lover of his country. This appropriation 
received the warm sup])ort of Mr. Buchanan. 

It was during this session that Mr. Buchanan became 
impressed with the danger, the uiexpediency, and the uncon- 
stitutionality of a United States Bank, an opinion he has 
adhered to ever since, and in the defence of which he has 
rendered sucli lasting services to his country in the legislative 
halls of the nation. 

After the conclusion of that session Mr. Buchanan applied 
himself to his profession with great assiduity, and accomplished 



mS POLITICAL CONDUCT. 27 

in Gvc years what it would have taken many men of consider 
alile rank in the law three or four times tliat period to have 
achieved. "We gave in the first chapter a very brief account 
of his rapid jirogrcss. The prosperity of his career can scarcely 
be exaggerated. In 1820 he yielded to the solicitations of hia 
friends and became a candidate for Congress, to which position 
he was elected. 

Before commencing the history of ^fr. Buchanan's congres 
sional career it may be well to notice some charges that have 
been brought forward tending to impeach the consistency of 
his political conduct. To pass them over in silence might give 
rise to the suspicion that his acts and opinions are not suscep- 
tible of defence, while we confidently assert that there is not 
one, which does not admit of the most thorough vindication, 
indeed which does not challenge the closest scrutiny and inves- 
tigation. Prominent among the charges which have been 
flippantly made and perscveringly persisted in, is that of 
federalism. Now, we say most distinctly that had Mr. Bu- 
chanan been a federalist, it has nothing whatever to do with 
issues now before the public ; and if it could be shown that he 
gave good reasons for changing his opinions upon public 
questions it should not and would not militate against him in 
the opinion of any sensible man. If therefore, it were a truth 
that Mr. Buchanan had advocated any of the leading questions 
of public policy which that once very respectable party sup- 
ported, we should so set down the fact, and consider him none 
the less worthy of support or confidence now, if he gave evi- 
dence of honesty of intention and stood upon principles essen- 
tial to the safety and interests of his country. But as we have 
foiled after a careful study of Mr. Buchanan's public life, to 
find any support for the charge brought against him by those 
who seem to be but indiS'erently acquainted with our political 
liietory, we have thought a notice of the matter in this place 
demanded by the integrity of history. 



28 LIFE AND SERVICES OF .TAl^rES BUCHANAN. 

Originally, the name of federal was as honorable a designar 
tion as any other. It took its rise from those who approved 
of our federal Constitution, whilst those who felt that the gov- 
ernment was too consolidated, called themselves anti-federaUsts 
or republicans ; but after tlie Constitution was adopted, and it 
was accepted as the fundamental, organic law of the land, as Jef- 
ferson truly remarked, " We are all federahsts, we are all republi- 
cans." After the adoption of the Constitution, therefore, the term 
federal, so far as its prhuary signification was concerned, had 
no meaning. But in a few years it was soon discovered that the 
very men who had approved most earnestly of the Constitution, 
began to claim for it doubtful powers, and to give it a liberal 
construction. Mr. John Adams, the second President, was the 
first who boldly inaugurated this policy, and by the passage of 
the alien and sedition laws, overwhelmed himself and his party 
in disgrace. This was the first stain on the otherwise fair name 
of federal. Then came the war of 1812, when they completed 
their ruin as a party, not by opposing the war in a reasonable 
manner, but by an odious and unconstitional opposition, which 
finally terminated in a traitorous convention in New England, 
to make a separate peace with Great Britain. These two acts 
destroyed the federal party, and brought upon the name an 
odious reproach. It will not be pretended by any one that Mr. 
Buchanan approved either of the measures to which we have 
referred. The principles of the federal party were, however, 
as we have before observed, in favor of claiming from Congress 
the exercise of doubtful powers, in opposition to the doctrine 
of State rights as embraced in the Kentucky and Vu-ginia resolu- 
tions of 1798. They also claimed the power in Congress to estab- 
lish a United States bank. Yet, upon Mr. Buchanan's first appear- 
ance in public life, wo find him announcing himself as opposed 
to a bank of this kind, and denying the power of Congress to 
establish such an institution. Now, there is no sense or pro- 
priety in calling any man a federalist, who has not advocated 



niS POLITICAL COXSISTEXCT. 2'^ 

or supported federal doctrines. Yet there is not an eneray of 
Mr. Buchanan who can point to a single act of his life which is 
contrary to the doctrine of State rights, or to a strict construc- 
tion of the Constitution. From first to last, from beginning to 
end, he has adhered steadily to this pohtical faith. In the 
general disruption of parties after the war of 1812, he may 
have technically ranked with the federal party, but he cer- 
tainly never supported a single one of its measures, as the reader 
who peruses the remaining pages of this volume will be fully 
convinced. 

But even had Mr. Buchanan seen reasons fbr changing his 
opinions, and doubtless he has upon some public questions, who 
is there to reproach him for such a course ? ^Vllere is the man, 
who in the period of forty years' experience in public life, has 
not changed ? To suppose men not susceptible of an honest 
alteration of opinion, would be to expect that they come perfect 
from the hand of their Maker ; or else that they were either so 
dull, that the instruction which experience furnishes, is inca- 
pable of making any impression upon them; or that they were so 
obstinate and self-willed, as to adhere to opinions after they had 
been convinced they were erroneous. Full-fledged Minervas do 
not, in these days, spring from Jupiter's head, any more than 
full-grown men, physically as well as mentally, enter the world 
to astonish those who have been exploring its mysteries, some- 
times with only partial success, for years. All that the people 
can justly demand of any public man, is, that his course has not 
been erratic or irregular, and that, if upon any occasion 
he has changed his opinions, it has the appearance of hon- 
esty of purpose, and the excuse of public interest. But with 
all our study of Mr. Buchanan's career, and we say it without 
the least particle of anything like a partisan bias, we have 
failed to discover any change of any of the fundamental princi- 
ples of his political action. In this respect he has not only been 
consistent, but exceedingly fortunate, for there are few persona 



80 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

who do not imbibe some false principles, which more mature judg- 
ment convinces them are erroneous. All who peruse Mr Bu- 
chanan's congressional career of twenty years, will be fully con- 
vinced that, for an exemplary devotion to great principles, and 
a consistent and honorable bearing upon all questions, he is 
not excelled by any living statesman. 



MILITAET APPROPEIATIONS. 31 



CHAPTER III. 

Military Api ropriations — Bankrupt Bill — Internal Improvements — Tlie Tariff Question. 

TnE year 1820 was one of great financial embarrassment. 
Tlie Bank of the United States, which had been chartered in 
1816, had iu less than four years proved how delusive were 
the hopes and expectations of its friends. It had created one 
of those vast expansions of paper currency which are only the 
precursors of a calamity more wide-spread and destructive than 
any prosperity it could produce was satisfactory or desirable. 
The distress was universal, and pervaded pulilic as well as 
private affairs. Mr. Benton iu his " Thirty Years' View," 
speaking of this disastrous period of our iiatioual history, says : 
" No price for property or produce ; no sales but those of the 
Sheriff and the Marshal ; no purchasers at the executive sales 
but the creditor or some hoarder of money ; no employment 
for industry, no demand for labor ; no sale for the product of 
the farm ; no sound of the hammer but that of the auctioneer 
knocking down property. Stop laws, projicrty laws, rcplevia 
laws, stay laws, loau office laws, the intervention of the legis- 
lator between the creditor and the debtor — this was the busi- 
ness of legislation in three-fourths of the States of the Union 
of all south and west of New England. No medium of ex- 
change but depreciated paper ; no change even, but little bits 
of foul paper, marked so many cents, and signed by some trader, 
barber, or inn-keeper. Exchanges deranged to the extent of 
fifty or one hundi'ed per cent. Distress the universal cry of the 



S2 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

people , relief the universal demand thundered at the doors of 
all legislatures, State and Federal." 

It was in such a social convulsion as this that the citizens of 
Lancaster county turned their thoughts upon James Buchanan, 
then only twenty-nine years of age, as their candidate fur repre- 
sentative in Congress. Serious, thoughtful, and considerate, 
he was, wherever known, regarded as w^orthy of the utmost 
confidence. The warm and ardent friend of Mr. ^Monroe's 
administration, he contributed not a little in promoting that 
universal popularity which elevated that distinguished indivi- 
dual almost unanimously the second tune to the presidential 
chair. Mr. Buchanan was elected in the fall of 1820, and 
took his seat in the seventeenth Congress, in December, 1821. 

This was immediately succeeding the stormy session of 1820, 
when the difficulties in regard to the admission of Missouri had 
been adjusted, by the adoption of the first concession ever 
made to the anti-vslavery or abolition sentiment of the country. 
The attempt was boldly made when Missouri applied for admis- 
sion into the Union, to exclude her unless she would come in as 
a State with laws refusing to recognise the right of property 
interest in the labor and services of negroes. This uuconsti- 
tutional demand upon her was successfully resisted, and finally 
only one clause in her Constitution was excepted to as consti- 
tuting a ground of ultimate rejection. This was a section pro- 
hibiting the emigration of free negroes into the State. It 
was urged by the anti-slavery party of that day, that this was 
in contradiction to the clause of the Constitution of the United 
States, which guarantees to any citizen of any of the States 
of the Union equal privileges in all the States, of which privi- 
leges the right of emigration was one. It was held, that if 
negroes were admitted to citizenship in some States, they would 
be deprived of it by the terms of the Constitution of Missouri. 
It was successfully replied to this, that the Constitution did not 
regard persons of this race as citizens, and that the framers 
of the government expressly stated that it was formed " for 



MILITAIIT ArrKOPKIATIONS. 33 

tlicni and their posterity," of whom negroes could form no part 
The objection, however, was a mere pretext, the real cause of 
tlie opposition to the admission of Missouri being tlic existence 
of negro servitude in the State. This is abundantly proved 
from the fact that the anti-slavery party have long since aban- 
doned the ground then assumed, and many of tlie western 
States now have stringent laws in regard to the admission of 
free negroes, without any objection being raised as to the right 
of a State to pass such acts in regard to the status of the 
negro, as it may in its sovereign capacity think proper for its 
own welfare. Even the " Free State Constitution of Kansas," 
recently so earnestly advocated by the anti-slavery press of the 
present day, contained an express prohibition to the immigration 
of free negroes. The objectionable clause in the Constitution 
of Missouri was finally so modified by the exertions of Mr. 
Clay, that a resolution was reported in favor of the admission of 
the State, upon condition that the legislature should first 
declare tluit the clause in her Constitution relative to free 
colored immigration should never be construed to authorize the 
passage of any act by which any citizen of any of the States 
of tlie Union should be excluded from the enjoyment of every 
privilege to which he may be entitled under the Constitution 
of the United States. "When this was done, the President was 
to declare Missouri admitted, by proclamation. This resolution 
passed the House of Representatives by only four majority, 
^Ir. Randolph and other southern members opposing it with 
all their might. The Missouri restriction bill of 36° 30', some- 
times called " the Missouri Compromise," was also acquiesced in 
by the same Congress, upon the supposition that this conces- 
sion to the demands ef the anti-slavery sentiment would be a 
quietus to the agitation of the matter. Subsequent events, 
however, proved how delusive was this hope, and how danger- 
ous it is to yield even the slightest constitutional right to the 
demands of a delusion which is propagated mainly for the pur- 
pose of acquiring poUtical power. The overthrow of one right 



34 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

only paves the way for the destruction of another still more 
imi^ortant ; and the party thus emboldened by success, will 
continue its lawlessness until it rides over every barrier of the 
Constitution, and prostrates every right which is not sanctioned 
by its own insane creed, or until it installs civil war in order 
to carry out its exclusive doctrines. 

Mr. Buchanan's entrance to Congress was unmediately sub- 
sequent to these events. The proclamation of Mr. Monroe had 
admitted Missouri as one of the States of the Confederacy dur- 
ing the summer of 1821. The country had been agitated with 
a long and fearful conflict, and all parties, after the settlement 
made by the preceding Congress, were but too glad to turn their 
attention from a subject which had threatened in so imminent 
a degree the safety of the Union, to others more practical in 
their character. The depression of the times suggested many 
of these, and the Congress of 1821 — 22 had therefore a great 
deal of business upon its hands which in the excited state of 
the public mind on the Missouri question, had been neglected. 

The array of talent on the floor of Congress when Mr. Bucha- 
nan arrived in Washington was impressive and commanding. 
In the House were the ever memorable names of McDufBe, Joel 
R. Poinsett, John Randolph, Philip P. Barbour, Andrew Ste- 
venson, Louis McLane, and others equally distinguished. In 
the Senate were Rufus King, Martin Van Buren, Mahlon Dick- 
erson, Samuel L. Southard, Nathaniel Macon, and Richard M. 
Johnson. Mr. Buchanan immediately took rank among the 
most industrious and indefatigable members of the House. He 
was always in his seat, and generally participated in every de- 
bate upon any important public question. The first set speech 
which Mr. Buclianan delivered in Congress was upon a bill mak- 
ing appropriations to the military, for some deficiencies that 
had occurred in the Indian department. He so ably defended 
the course of Mr. Crawford, then Secretary of the Treasury, 
that the "National Intelligencer" at the request of severa. 
gentlemen departed from its usual course, and gave a verbatim 



MILITART APPKOPRIATIONS. 33 

report of his speech. As this was the first eCTort of >[r 
Uiifhaiian on the (loor of Con<>;rcss, and as it gave an earnest of 
the future distinction that awaited him, we give it entire, with 
tlie exceptiou of a small portion mostly taken np with statis- 
tics. It was delivered on the 11th of January, 1822. Mr. 
Buchanan rising said : — 

" 'SIr. CnAiRMAX : Ou Friday last, when the Uouse adjourned, 
I did believe that the subject now before the Committee was 
involved in doubt and iu mystery. I thought that a dark cloud 
hung over the transaction, which ought to be cleared up before 
the House could give its sanctioa to this appropriation. After a 
careful examination the mystery has vanished — the cloud has 
been dispelled, and to my view the subject a})[)ears clear as the 
light of day. If it had not, my vote would be given against 
the ajipropriation, because in a Rei)ublican goverument doubt 
and mystery, in any measure proposed by the Executive depart- 
ment, should always be sufficient to prevent it from receiving 
the support of the House. 

" In the remarks which I propose to submit, it will be my 
endeavor to communicate to the Committee the reasons upon 
which I have come to the determination to give this appropria- 
tion ray unqualified support. If I shouhl be wrong, there are 
many gentlemen in the House whose judgment and whose ex- 
perience will enable them to correct my errors. 

" Nice distinctions have been drawii between a just con- 
fidence in the Executive departments, and au unreasonable 
jealousy of their condiict, ou the one side ; and on the other, 
between that confidence and a belief ir. their infallibility. Ex- 
tremes in such case are very dangerous. Whilst unreasonable 
jealousy of men in pOA-er keeps the public mind in a state of 
constant agitation and alarm, a blind reliance upon their infal- 
libUity, may enable them to destroy the liberties of the people 
before they are aware of the existence of danger. At the same 
time, therefore, that I trust I am one of the last men in the 



36 LIFE AND SEEVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

House who would consent to establish the office of dictator in 
the commonwealth, or to believe in the infallibility of mortals 
in politics more than in religion — yet I should think it wrong to 
withhold from a public officer that degree of confidence which 
assumes that he has acted correctly, until the contrary appears. 
It ought to be a maxim in politics, as well as in law, that an 
officer of your government, high in the confidence of the peo- 
ple, shall be presumed to have done his duty, until the reverse 
of the proposition is proved. 

" These observations are made, not because I believe they 
have any bearing upon the present question, but simply in 
answer to those used by gentlemen who have argued upon the 
opposite side. The Secretai-y of War, upon the present occasion, 
requires not the aid of presumptions in his favor, because, to my 
mind at least, there is the most full, satisfactory, and self-evident 
proof, 

"Before I come to the principal question, Mr. Chairman, per- 
mit me to answer one of the arguments which has been eloquently 
and ingeniously urged by the gentlemen opposed to this appro- 
priation. 

" It has been said, with truth, that the Constitution provides 
' that no money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law.' It is certain that this 
provision is the best security for the liberties of the people in the 
whole of the instrument. Once transfer this branch of power, 
vested in Congress by the Constitution, to the Executive, and 
your freedom is but an empty name. That department of the 
government, having then the command of the purse, might very 
soon assume the power of the sword. 

" Has the Secretary of War violated this salutary provision ? 
Has he drawn money out of the treasury witliout an appropria- 
tion made by law for that purpose ? Unquestionably not. So 
far from asking you to sanction such an unconstitutional measure, 
he is now requesting you to make an appropriation to supply a 
deficiency in the means which you had provided to enable him to 



MILITAKY APrKOPKIATIONS. 87 

discharge positive duties, enjoined upou him by your own 
hiws. 

" Wliether this deficiency shall be supplied out of the public 
jnii'se, or the Secretary be made responsible in his private capa- 
city to those with whom he has made contracts on the faith of 
the government, is the only question now before the com- 
mittee. 

" Here let me ask gentlemen why they are so much alarmed at 
the fact that the appropriation has proved deficient ? Deficien- 
cies must and will occur so long as the men who wield the desti- 
nies of this government are fallible. Nothing short of the spirit 
of prophecy can prevent them from happening, unless Congress 
should think proper to make such overwhelming appropriations 
as would be sufficient to cover all contingencies, not only proba- 
ble but possible. They existed even whilst the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Randolph) was chairman of the Committee of 
Ways and Means. I speak the honest sentiments of my heart, 
when I declare that, in my opinion, he possessed as much pene- 
tration as any gentleman who ever occupied that distinguished 
station. Calculate, with the nicest precision, the future probable 
expenses of any department of the government, and in the course 
of the year for which the estimate is made, suppose there should 
be no events of extraordinary occurrence, still it will be a miracle, 
if ever the appropriation shall be exactly equal to all the neces- 
sary expenditures. 

" At the instant of time when the sum appropriated is expended 
in executing your laws, would you have the wheels of govern- 
ment to stop ? Would you declare that all your public agents 
who had served you faithfully should receive no compensation, 
merely because either you or your Secretary of War, in the 
beginning of the year, could not foresee the expenses which 
might be incurred before its end ? 

"Take, for example, the army; admit, for the sake of argu- 
ment, that which is impossible even in times of the most profound 
trauquilUty — that you had esthnated the future annual expense 



38 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JA3,IES BUCHANAN". 

to a fraction, and had made an appropriation accordingly. 
Suppose, that during the recess of Congress, political storms 
should envelop your country, that treason at home, or war from 
abroad, were about to disturb your peace, and that the point 
9f meditated atiack was within the knowledge of your execu- 
tive : under such circumstances, would the President of tlie 
United States be justified, either to his conscience or to his con- 
stituents, if he were not to march the army from all quarters of 
the Union to the district in danger ? What would you then 
think of his justification, if he informed you that he neglected to 
provide for the common defence, because the army appropria- 
tion was too small to enable him to embody the forces ? Such 
conduct would be treason against the Republic. 

" Your security in all cases of this kind, arises from that 
admirable provision of the Constitution, which declares that no 
money shall be drawn from the treasury but under the authority 
of the law. AVhen any officer of the government applies for 
the passage of a bill to supply a deficiency, yon always inquire 
into the reasons why it has occurred ; and if his conduct upon 
examination is found to be correct, you will, as you have ahvaj's 
hitherto done, supply the deficiency. 

" This course of policy is not only necessary in itself, but it 
gives you a much greater control over the public purse, than if, 
in the beginning of the year, you were to make your appropria- 
tions sufficiently large to cover all contingencies. Such conduct 
would be a powerful temptation to the officer to become extrava- 
gant in the expenditure of public money. 

" Let us then inquire, whether it was necessary that the sum 
of $110,000 should have been expended in the Indian department 
during the year 1821, to carry into effect the spirit and inten- 
tion of the different acts of Congress ? 

" It has been urged, that as Congress appropriated but 
$100,000 to defray the current expenses of that department 
during the last year, the Secretary was bound to confine himself 
within that amount. The necessary consequence would be, 



MILITARY APPK0PEIAT10N3. 39 

tliat tlic laws establishing^ that branch of our policy, were in 
this manner, at least in part, repealed. 

" This is, I confess, the lirst occasion on which I have ever 
beard that a system of laws which had received a fixed construc- 
tion by the practice of the nation for more than twenty years, 
could be repealed, not by withdrawing the whole, but a part of 
ai)propriation necessary to carry them into eflect. If this were 
the case, it would give to estimates, uncertain in their very 
nature, the cQ'ect of expunging from our statute-book the most 
wholesome regulations. Nay, more, it would be delegating 
legislative powers to the head of a department, and would intro- 
duce the very evil against which gentlemen are so anxious to 
guard. By this construction, if there be laws in existence 
enjoining a variety of duties on any officer of the government, 
and if, to enable him to discharge all those duties, an annual 
expenditure of $170,000 is necessary, your appropriation of but 
$100,000 for that purpose would make him the legislator, 
instead of yourselves. You thus necessarily vest in him the 
power of deciding what parts of the system shall remain in 
vigor, and what part shall fall before his power. In order to 
ascertain what laws are repealed, you would Ije obliged to 
resort, not to your statute-book, but to the head of a depart- 
ment. Even then they would be forever varying, because, 
whilst he confined himself within his appropriation, he might at 
his pleasure range through the whole system as it originally 
stood, and select from it such parts as he thought proper to 
carry into effect. This is not the manner in which Congress 
ever will, or ever can, manifest their intention. If they desire 
to reduce the expenses of any department of the government, 
themselves will lup off every branch which they deem superflu- 
ous, and not leave it to the discretion of any executive officer, 
no matter how exalted his station. Whilst, however, certain 
duties are enjoined on any department of the government, by 
acts of Congress, or by treaties, we are bound to supply the 
officer with the means necessary to the performance of those 



40 LITE AND SEEVICE& OF JAMES BUCHANAN. ^ 

duties. If, in such a case, our appropriation has been insuffi- 
cient, we ought at once to supply the deficiency. 

" This system, so eminently calculated to preserve tranquillity 
around our borders, and to prevent the intrigues of another 
nation from obtaining for them an undue ascendency over the 
minds of the savages has been long established, and was as 
much incorporated into your policy as that of sending ambas- 
sadors to foreign courts. Did Congress express any disappro- 
bation of this system. Did. they destroy any part of it by 
the bill which appropriated $100,000 for the current expenses 
of the year ? Did they intend that the Secretary should destroy 
the objects of ascertained or of contingent expense ? Both had 
been equally provided for, by your laws, and by your treaties. 
Did Congress mean either that the Indians should receive no 
rations at your military posts, or that no presents should be 
given to them, or that they should be deprived of the benefit 
of receiving agricultural instruments from your hands ? If they 
did, they have expressed no such determination by any law. 
The consequence of the construction contended for is, that if 
they intended anything, by appropriating but $100,000, it was 
to enable the Secretary to legislate in your behalf, and to repeal 
so much of existing laws and existing treaties as would reduce 
the expense to $100,000. This he had no power to do, and to 
allow him to exercise it would estabhsh a most dangerous pre- 
cedent against the liberties of this people. It would be to allow 
an officer to stop the wheels of government and paralyze the 
energies of the law the moment the appropriation which had 
been made was expended. 

" Could the Secretary have ever supposed that you intended 
to destroy any part of this establishment ? Certainly not, be- 
cause the expenditures are most just as well as most politic. You 
have driven that noble race of men from the hunting giounds 
which God and nature intended for their support. You have 
caused intestine wars to rage continually among them, by driv- 
ing remote tribes near together, and thus making it necessary 



MILITAKY APPR0PEIAT10N8. 41 

to their existence that they should invade tho hunting <rround3 
of each other. Diirinq; the very last year, it appears from the 
letter of the Secretary that the diibursemcnts have been in- 
creased by the emigration of the Indians from the States of 
Ohio, Indiana, and IHiuois, beyond the Mississippi. After thus 
crowding tliem together, you make them waste their scanty 
supply of game by inducing them to destroy it without neces- 
sity, so that you may obtain their fur to gratify your appetite 
for hixury. In this situation, to which they have been reduced 
by our policy, the laws have provided that, when the cravings 
of hunger shall drive these children of the forest to your mili- 
tary posts, cither on the frontier or in their own territory they 
shall receive food ; that in order to preserve their existence and 
enable them to live upon the circumscribed limits within which 
tlicy have been driven, they sliould be taught agriculture, and 
receive the implements of husbandry ; that, when their chiefs 
think proper to visit your metropolis, you will enable them to 
do so by paying their expenses, and thus manifest to them the 
extent of both your power and your friendship. In short, all 
the other provisions, which our laws and our treaties have made 
for them, and which I shall not detail, are founded, not only in 
the strictest justice, but in the wisest pohcy. 

" Did Congress intend, by the mere act of appropriating 
$100,000 for the cuiTcnt expenses of the last year, that the 
head of a department should alter the laws of the land, and that 
he might at his will declare what part of the Indian system 
should be in force, and what part should be considered as 
repealed ? Was it, for example, their determination that no 
treaties should be held with the Indians, however necessary they 
might have been, because the Secretary had thought proper to 
apply the whole of your appropriations to other objects ? This 
never could have been their iulention. Congress alone have 
the power of changing this system of policy, whenever they 
think projicr to do so, by unequivocal legislative acts ; then, 
and not till theu, does it become the duty of executive officers 



4.2 LIFE AXD SJ:RYICES of JA^rES BUCnANAX. 

to obey. They dare not sooner neglect to carry existing laws 
and treaties into effect. 

" Suppose the Secretary had thought proper materially to 
alter our policy towards the Indians, and the first information 
you had heard of the change was, as it probably would have 
been, the howl of savage warfare around your borders, and the 
shrieks of helpless women and children under the scalping-knife, 
could you then have justified his conduct ? Would you then 
have told him that he had the power of altering the whole sys- 
tem, because a sulScient appropriation had not been made to 
keep it in motion till the end of the year ? And this, too, when 
the very sentence before the appropriation of $100,000 provided 
that $130,205 44 should be drawn from the treasury to cover 
past arrearages in the Indian department ? The legitimate 
meaning of a reduction in the api)ropriation was not to destroy 
any part of our policy towards the Indians, but to warn the Sec- 
retary to use the strictest economy in carrying every part of it 
into effect. It has produced that happy result. He has 
informed you that the expenses of the present year will not 
exceed $150,000. This sum is upwards of $85,000 less than, 
upon an average, was appropriated to the same purpose, in each 
year, from 1815 to 1820, both inclusive. It i-s but a few thou- 
sand dollars more than was expended for the use of the same 
department for each of the two last years of Mr. Jefferson. In 
the meantime, our relations with the Indians have been greatly 
extended with our extending frontier, and we have become 
acquainted with tribes, of which before we had never even heard 
the names. This great curtailment of expense places the char- 
acter of the present Secretary, in this particular, upon an 
exalted eminence ; and the more so, as it is weii known that not 
one cent more of money was expended by the administration of 
Mr. Jefferson than was necessary to accomplish its objects. 

" But suppose, for the sake of argument, that the Secretary 
ought to have inferred from your appropriation bill that you 
intended he should change the Indian system, still we should 



MILITARY APPKOPKIATIONS. 43 

rote the $70,000 to supply the dcBcit. If wc do not, we 
require that he should have performed mn'acles. 

"Tills system has been in constant and in vigorous operation 
shice 1802. For sLx years before the ])assage of the last appro- 
priation bill, its average annual c.\i)ense had been more than 
$235,000. That bill did not pass uutU the 3d of March. Be- 
fore that time, it has not been alleged that there had been a 
whisper of disajiprobation against the former a[)propriatious for 
the ludian Department. On the contrary, during that period, 
$200,000 at least had been appropriated every year ; and, in 
addition, large deficiencies had been supphed, without a mur- 
mur. The Secretary, acting under a firm conviction that the 
same system would be pursued, had taken the measures neces- 
sary to continue its motion for another year, some time before 
the passage of the bill. The places at which the money was 
principally to be expended, were agencies upon the borders of 
your vast empire, far beyond the utmost Umits of civilization. 
The distance to many of them is so remote, and the communi- 
cation so precarious, that the Secretary has informed you they 
cannot be heard from more than twice, and often but once, in 
the whole course of the year. 

" Could the motion of this vast machinery be at once sus- 
pended ? In the beautiful language of the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Lowndes) it had received its impulse before 
the passage of the bill, and the momentum could not be with- 
drawn from it in a shorter period of time than one year. To 
require the Secretary, therefore to stop it immediately, would 
\ive been asking him to do that which was utterly impossible. 

These, Mr. Chairman, are the remarks which I conceived it 
to be my duty to make on the subject now before the commit- 
tee. I have, personally, no feeliug of jjartiality for the Secre- 
tary of War, nor of prejudice against hiui. I view him merely 
as a public character, and in that capacity I conscientiously 
believe that upon the present occasion he has done his duty, 
ftud acted in the only manner in which he could constitutionally 



44 LITE AKD SEEVICE8 OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

act. In my opinion, therefore, he deserves applause, instead of 
censure. 

" One other view of the subject, Mr. Chairman, and I shall 
have done. In whatever light the conduct of the secretary may 
appear, still the deficit ought to be supplied. This case does 
not require such an argument ; but suppose, for a moment he 
had acted improperly, is this one of those extreme cases — for I 
admit that such may possibly exist — in which the House should 
withhold an appropriation to supply a deficiency ? Will any 
gentleman say, that individuals who have fairly and honestly 
entered into contracts with your Secretary of War on the faith 
of the government shall suffer ? Surely, you would not impose 
the task on every person who binds himself by agreement, to per- 
form services for the government, to inquire whether the appro- 
priation made by Congress justified his employment. If you 
did, he then becomes responsible for what in the nature of things 
cannot be within his knowledge. To enable him to ascertain 
whether he might safely contract with the head of one your 
executive departments, he should be informed, not only of the 
amount of appropriations, but in what manner their expenditure 
has proceeded, and is proceeding, in every part of the Union. It 
would be crying mjustice to inform the men who have aban- 
doned civihzed life, and undergone all the dangers, the hardships 
and the privations of dwelling among savages in the wilderness, 
for the purpose of promoting the interest and the glory of their 
country, that they shall receive no compensation for their ser- 
vices, because the secretary who employed them has exceeded 
his appropriation. This would be making the innocent suffer 
instead of the guilty ; if, therefore, there has been any impro- 
priety in the conduct of the Secretary, as some gentlemen have 
insinuated, but which I utterly deny, it is a question which 
should be settled between you and him, and one in the decision 
of which the rights of the persons employed under his authority 
ought not to be involved. Indeed, no gentlemen has yet said 
that these men ought not to be paid out of the public treas- 



BANKRUPT BILL. 45 

ury. Why tbcn, considering this qucstiou in every point of view, 
in which it can be presented, is there any objection against 
voting $70,000 to sui)i)Iy the deficiency in the appropriation of 
the last year ? 1 hope it will pass without further difficulty." 

Mr. Buchanan seems to have been uncommonly active during 
the whole period of the first session he was in Congress. Nothing 
that allected the interests of his constituents was allowed to pass 
unnoticed. Indeed Mr. B. seems to have entertained from the 
start the idea that he was strictly the servant of the people who 
had elected him, and that in his capacity of representative in Con- 
gress, he was bound to attend, first of all, to the concerns of 
his immediate district. While he was strict in the expenditure 
of money he was liberal where patriotism made the demand. 
When some members found fault with a bill authorizing the relief 
of soldiers disabled in the revolutionary war, Mr. Buchanan met 
the opposition with the remark that the amount the bill proposed 
to appropriate " was a scanty pittance for the war-worn soldier," 
and that he was altogether averse to opposing a matter of so 
trilling a character, where the demands of patriotism were so 
imperative. Among other things wliich engaged his attention, 
and upon which he made speeches, were the Apportionment Bill, 
Transactions in Florida, the Bankrupt Bill, Appropriation Bill, 
and other matters of minor importance. Various charges had 
been brought against Gen. Jackson's conduct in Florida, the 
most prominent of which were that he had usurped authority 
and actually violated the laws of his country. Mr. Buchanan, 
then a warm friend of Gen. Jackson, was among the most ear- 
nest to have them investigated. Speaking upon this subject, he 
remarked, " tlmt the most serious consequencps might be 
expected to result, if, after charges of this sort were made 
against an individual, the House should avoid meeting the ques- 
tion — should put them to sleep by permanently laying them on 
the table, lie, for one, was willing to meet the proper respon- 
sibility of dcclarmg his opinion, either of the guilt or innocence 



.46 LIFE AXD SERTICES OF JAiTES BUCHAlfAN. 

of this distiiguished individual." It is scarcely necessary to 
Temark that these charges trumped up against Gen. Jaclisouby 
his enemies were not sustained. 

The most important speech that Mr. Buchanan made at this 
session of Congress was one on a Bankrupt Law, which was 
pcwerfully advocated by several of the most distinguished de- 
baters on the floor of the House. There probably never has 
been a time in the history of our country so opportune as the 
one which the opponents of the democracy of that day took to 
bring about " a uniform system of bankruptcy." The universal 
prostration of commercial affairs, the general and wide spread 
disasters which seemed to be the inevitable fate of all classes, 
and the constant cry for relief which was thundering at the 
doors of every legislative body were enough to make the best 
grounded in democratic principles waver. The bill was drawn 
up in the most seductive form. Its operation was to continue 
only three years, when it expired, unless all branches of the gov- 
ernment should concur in re-enacting it. It was shown by the 
friends of the bill that there was an unexampled number of in- 
solvent debtors, and they contended that a large majority of 
these individuals were really innocent, and merely unfortunate 
men, reduced to their embarrassments by the unforeseen disasters 
of the times. It was shown, that by a rapid transition the 
country had passed from a state of unexampled prosperity to 
a condition of commercial and financial ruin, to which no pre- 
cedent could be shown in the history of the nation. England 
and all the continental countries had Bankrupt laws, and why 
should not the United States ? The law was held up as a benefit 
to all classes, and one imperatively demanded by the peculiar 
condition of the times. Mr. Buchanan did not participate in 
the debate, which was long and very animated, until late hi the 
session and just before the bill came up for final reading. Then 
he delivered one of the most powerful and eloquent speeches of 
the session, taking decided ground against so unequal and unjust 
a law — one intended merely to encourage the wildest specu- 



BANKRUPT EILL. 47 

lations, and tending to destroy public as well as private credit. 
The speech is (piite a lengthy one, but it will amply repay 
perusal, as well tor the just sentiments it contains as iur its elo- 
cpient and triunii)hant vindication of puolic and private honesty, 
and the rights of the people. It was delivered on the 12tli of 
March, 1822. 

" Mr. Spsakf.r : Before the amendment proposed by the 
gentleman from Kentucky had obtained the sanction of this 
House, the question whether the bill should be engrossed for a 
third reading was one of very great importance. That question 
has, however, dwindled into insignificance compared with the 
one at present under consideration. We are now called upon 
to decide the fate of a measure of awful importance. The most 
dreadful responsibility rests upon us. We are not now to deter- 
mine merely whether a bankrupt law shall be extended to the 
trading classes of the community but whether it shall embrace 
every citizen of this Union and spread its demoralizing infiueuce 
over tlie whole surface of society. 

" The amendment which has been adopted to-day makes it 
ray imperative duty, even at this protracted period of the de- 
bate, to trespass upon the patience of the House. I have the 
honor in part of representing an honest, a wealthy, and a 
respectable, agricultural community. I owe to them, to my 
conscience and to my God not to suffer this bill to pass, which 
I conceive to be now fraught with destruction to their best 
interests, both moral and political, without entering my solemn 
protest against its provisions. We have heard it repeated over 
and over again by the friends of a bankrupt bill that it should 
be confined by the mercantile classes. One of the principal 
arguments urged in its favor by its eloquent supporters, was 
that merchants from the nature of their pursuits were exposed 
to the vicissitudes of fortune more than other nen, and that, 
therefore, their situation re([uired a peculiar system of laws. 

" That iu this country their fortunes had not only beui ex- 



48 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAIVIES BUCHANAN. 

posed to the dangers commonly incident to their profession, but | 
that the commercial regulations of the government, the embar- 
go, the non-intercourse laws, and, finally the war, had brought 
ruin upon thousands. It was, therefore, inferred that Congress 
were under a moral obligation to pass a bankrupt law for their 
relief. The policy of all the modern commercial nations in the 
world was presented before us for our imitation ; England, 
France, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, and Spain, we had been 
told, each extended a bankrupt law to the merchant, and 
absolved him from the payment of his debts upon certain con- 
ditions. Indeed, a great portion of the argument consisted in 
drawing a line of distinction between traders and the remain- 
ing classes of society. Judge then, Mr. Speaker, of my aston- 
ishment when, to-day, I found these gentlemen voting in favor of 
introducing an amendment extending the provisions of this 
bill to every individual in society who might ask to become its 
object. Will you pass a bankrupt law for the farmer ? Will 
you teach that vast body of your best citizens to disregard the 
faith of contracts ? Are you prepared to sanction a principle 
by which the whole mass of society will be in danger of being 
demoralized ? and it will be left to an election by every man's 
creditors, in which a majority of two-thirds in number and 
value against the consent of the remainder, shall have the 
power of discharging him from the obligation of all his con- 
tracts. Surely the House of Representatives are not prepared 
to answer these questions in the affirmative. No nation in the 
world, whether commercial or agricultural, whether civilized 
or savage, has ever for a moment entertained the idea of 
extending the operation of theh- bankrupt laws beyond the 
class of traders. Fortunately for our constitutents, we have 
not the power of doing so. The Constitution correctly ex- 
pounded has proclaimed, ' hitherto shalt thou go, but no fur- 
ther.' 

" Nothing but a desperate effort to revive this expiring l)i]l 
could have ever haduced its friends to have adopted the amend- 



BANKRUPT RIT.L. 49 

ment which has just now been carried. In the discussion of 
this question, I can assure the House, it is not my mtentiou to 
travel over the ground wliich has been ah-eady occupied, or 
repeat the argument which has been ah-eady urged. The 
subject naturally divides itself into two questious — the one of 
Constitutional power, the other of policy. On the first, as the 
bill stood before the introduction of the last amendment, I had 
not a single doubt. Much as I would have deprecated the 
passage of the then bill, I should have been infinitely more 
alarmed if this House had determined that the enactment of 
such a law transcended the constitutional power of Congress. 
Upon this branch of the subject, the ingenious arguments of the 
gentleman from Virginia had not created a doubt in my mind. 

" Where doubts before did exist, the argument of the geutle- 
mau from South Carolina (Mr. Lowndes), and of my honorable 
colleague (Mr. Sergeant) were, in my opinion, caculated entirely 
to remove them, and to carry conviction to every understand- 
ing. A new question of constitutional power has now arisen 
on the amendment. The Constitution declares that ' the Con- 
gress shall have power to establish uniform laws on the subject 
of bankruptcies throughout the United States.' To this pro- 
vision I am willing to give a fair and a liberal construction. 
Congress have the power to discharge from their debts on the 
terms prescribed by jy^c bill, all persons upon whom a law ema- 
nating from the clause of the Constitution may legitimately act. 

But can Congress make a law extending the penalties and the 
privileges of a bankrupt system to every individual in society ? 
Can they embrace in its provision the farmer, the clergyman, 
the physician, or the lawyer ? Such a proposition was never 
seriously contended for before this day. 

" By considering the meaning of the term bankrupt, we 
shall be able at once to solve the diEflculty. In adverting to its 
origin, we fiud the literal signification of the word to be a 
broken counter, which by a figure of speech has been applied 
in our language to a broken merchant. In the commercial laws 

3 



50 ILDyE AXD SER-V7CES OF JA:MES BUCIIANAIT. 

of all the nations of the continent of Europe, bankruptcy is 
confined to merchants in the strictest sense of the word. The 
operation of the bankrupt laws of England has been extended 
by judicial construction somewhat further, and they now embrace 
within their grasp, not only the merchant properly so called, 
but all jiersons who are traders, and are concerned in buying 
and selling any kind of merchandise, unless they have been 
expressly excepted by some positive legislative provision. This 
exposition of the law extends not only to those who sell any 
commodity in the same state in which they purchase it, but 
also to the manufacturer and the mechanic who bestow upon it 
their labor and their skill, and thus render it more valuable. 
The bill, as it formerly stood, confioed itself strictly within this 
range. Indeed, it was more circumscribed as to the persons 
on whom it would have operated than the bankrupt laws of 
England. I am willing, then, to expound the powers of Con- 
gress upon the subject liberally. 

"In construing the Constitution, Congress ought not to be 
fettered by nice technical rules. I admit that they have the 
power, whenever they think proper to call it into exercise, 
of establishing a system of bankruptcy which shall embrace all 
persons who have ever been embraced even by the bankrupt laws 
of England. Further than this they cannot proceed, without 
extending the plain meaning of the word0)ankruptcy, as it has 
been received by every commercial nation of Europe, and vio- 
lating both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution. In 
making this admission, I am sensible that many may suppose I 
am giving a latitude of construction to the instrument which is 
not warranted by its spirit. 

" The authority to establish unifai-m laws on the subject of 
bankruptcies throughout the United States, is contained in a 
clause of the Constitution, which immediately follows, that to 
regulate commerce with Foreign Nations, and among the sev- 
eral States, and with the Indian tribes. The power over bank- 
ruptcy evidently originated from, and is closely connected with 



BANKRUPT BILL. 51 

that over commerce. This commerce -which Congress lias the 
power of regulating, is chiefly, if not exchisivcly, conducted by 
merchants, in the strictest sense of the term, and principally by 
that class of them denominated importers. They are the men most 
exposed to the vicissitudes of trade, and, on that account, are 
more properly the object of such a law than people of any other 
description. It might, therefore, with much plausibility, be 
coutended, that the power of Congress over bankruptcy i3 
confined to that description cf merchants. Another argument, 
which would give additional strength to this construction, 
arises from the general spirit of the Federal Institutions. They 
do not propose to embrace the internal policy of the States. 
The jurisdiction of the federal courts is confined by the Consti- 
tution to controversies between citizens of the different States, 
and between foreigners and citizens of the United States. To 
such suits the men who carry on the intercourse with foreign 
nations, and between the different States, are most generally 
parties. 

" The object which I have in view in using these arguments, 
is not to prove that the constitutional power of Congress is 
confined to such merchants, but to show that it is contrary to 
the nature and the spirit of our government to extend it to all 
classes of people in the community. The bill as it stood, before 
the amendment, went quite far enough. It would even then 
have brought the operation of the law, and the jurisdiction of 
the federal coui'ts into the bosom of every coramunity. The 
bill, however, as it now stands, if it should pass, will entirely 
destroy the symmetry of om* system, and make those courts tho 
arbiters, in almost every case of contract to which any member 
of society, who thuiks proper to become a bankrupt, may be a 
party. It will at once be, in a great degree, a judicial consoli- 
dation of the Union. This was never intended by the framcrs 
of the Constitution. Some of the terrible evils which would 
flow from such a system, I shall have reason to delineate, wlien 

I come to ?peak of the policy of its adoption. 

♦ ******♦* 



52 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAM^ES BUCflANAi!^. 

" I shall now proceed to lay before the House my objections 
to the passage of this bill ; as it now stands, certain classes of 
society are exposed to its adverse operations upon the commis- 
sion of any of the acts of bankruptcy described in its first 
section. Every individual in the community, including those 
embraced by the bill previous to the late amendment, may 
become voluntary bankrupts. It will be necessary here briefly 
to inquire who may be declared bankrupts against their will. 
The adverse operation of the law wUl not be confined to whole- 
sale and retail merchants, strictly speaking, and to dealers in 
exchange, bankers, brokers, factors, underwriters, and marine 
insurers. By the construction which has been placed ujion the 
words, " other persons actually using the trade of merchandise, 
by buying and selling in gross or by retail," not only every dealer 
in any article, but every manufacturer or mechanic who pur- 
chases any material, bestows his skill and labor upon it, and 
sells it in its improved state, falls within the compulsory branch 
of this bUl, unless expressly excepted by the proviso in its first 
section. Thus, the distiller who purchases grain, converts it 
into whisky and sells the whisky, would clearly be within its 
operation. The miller, also, who' buys wheat and sells it 
converted into flour, may be declared a bankrupt against his 
will. These cases are cited only as examples to illustrate the 
general rule. Each individual member can imagine many 
others. 

" I will now proceed to that which strikes my mind as a 
radical objection to the existence of this or any other adversary 
bankrupt bill in the United States. It arises from the nature 
Df our free institutions, and is one that exists in no other 
country on the globe. It springs out of the best principles 
of the Federal Constitution, and it cannot be removed without 
expunging them from the instrument. In what manner is a 
person to be declared a bankrupt by the bill now before the 
House ? On the petition of any creditor, accompanied by an 
affidavit of the truth of his debt, the circuit or district judge 



BAI^^KRUPT BILL. 53 

of tlic United States Is authorized to issue a commission of bank- 
ruptcy. Tiie alleged baukrujit may, however, aj?pcar before the 
commissioners, deny that he has committed any act of bank- 
ruptcy, and demand a trial by a jury of his country, before the 
judge who issues the commission. This is a right of which he 
cannot be deprived by the power of Congress. In the emphatic 
laiigungc of the Constitution, ' he shall not be deprived of his 
life, his liberty, or his property, without due process of law.' 
This trial before the circuit or district judge may and probably 
will, in a majority of cases, be delayed for years before its final 
termination. 

" In free governments we cannot move with the celerity of 
despotism. During its pendency, what becomes of the property 
of the alleged bankrupt ? lie cannot be dispossessed of it under 
the Constitution of the country, or by the provisions of this f)ill, 
until the jury shall have convicted him of its first section. 
But although it cannot be wrested from him until after the event, 
yet the moment the commission issues, he, in effect, loses all 
control over his estate. The reason of this is, that by the pro- 
visions of the bill all intermediate dispositions made l)y the 
debtor of his property are absolutely void, should he finally be 
declared a bankrupt. No person, therefore, would with safety 
in the meantime enter into any contracts with him, or purchase 
any part of his estate. From the very nature of an adverse 
bankrupt system, this must necessarily be the case. If it were 
not, every man charged with having committed an act of bank- 
ruptcy would demand a trial Ijy jury before the district or cir- 
cuit judge of the United States, so that during its pendency ho 
might have an opportunity to dispose of his property as he 
tlioi'.ght proper. AVhat, then, is the situation in which the bill 
places every man within its adverse provisions ? 

"Any of his creditors or pretended creditors, by making an 
ex parte affidavit of the truth of his debt, without ever proving 
by his own oath or otherwise any act of bankruptcy against 
him, may bruig upon Mm inevitable and overwhelniinij destruo- 



54: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCnANAJS'. 

lion. If envy or malice against liim rankles in the soul of any 
enemy who either is his creditor, or who will swear that he is, 
that enemy may wreak his vengeance to the full extent of his 
wishes, by having a commission of bankruptcy issued against 
him. The commission itself would be the death-warrant of his 
property, notwithstanding his property may have been sufficient 
to discharge his debts, and he may have been guilty of no act 
of bankruptcy. If he submits to the commission, his credit is 
gone, and his power of exertion is at an end until he shall have 
obtained his final discharge. If he does not, and demands a 
trial, he is, during its pendency, in the situation of Tantalus in 
the infernal regions. Although he may be surrounded by all 
the comforts of life, and the means of extricating himself from 
his difficulties, he has not the power of using them. 

"If he should be a merchant, his counting-house must be 
closed, and his capital remain idle, awaiting the result of a 
tedious lawsuit. If he be a farmer who has carried on a distil- 
lery, or who has been a miller, or retail merchant, he cannot 
dispose of an acre of his land, or any of his personal property, 
until the controversy is determined. Whether, therefore, he 
submits to the commission, or does not, if he be an honest man, 
he is exposed to inevitable ruin. If he be a fraudulent debtor, 
the delay of the trial will afford him ample time and opportu- 
nity to secrete his property, and place it beyond the reach of 
his creditors ; and in this situation he will have the strongest 
temptation to be guilty of fraud. 'The bankrupt law of Eng- 
land, the model from which the present bill has been drawn, 
provides an effectual remedy for this evil. It is one, however, 
which we have no constitutional po\Ter to adopt ; and if we 
had, it would be repugnant to every feeling of the hearts of 
freemen. In that country the bare issuing of the comniissi.'n is 
itself equivalent to an execution. 

" The debtor is at once deprived of the possession of all his 
property, and it is vested in the commissioners. Although he 
may declare he has never been guilty of an act of bankruptcy, 



BAXKUUl'T BILL. 55 

and petitions for a trial, he petitions in vain. Tho iron hand of 
the law is upon him, and no innoceuce can elude its grasp. la 
that country the law declares that ' caveats against commissions 
arc not allowed, for they give too much time to a fraiulnleut 
debtor.' Tlie i)roeecdings under it resemble those of the judges 
in the infernal regions, who first condemn and afterwards hear. 
They first deprive a man of all his property by virtue of the com- 
mission, and after the evil has been done, allow him to apply to 
the chaucellor to have it superseded. From the nature of 
those governments on the continent of Europe, under whose 
do.uiuiou bankrupt laws prevail, and from the peculiar char- 
acter of these laws, and the commercial tribunals by whom 
they are administered, the same evils do not exist. 1 will not 
exhaust the patience of the llouse by detailing their different 
provisions. 

" It may be said, as the bill provides, that the petitionary credi- 
tor, before the commission can issue, shall give bond to be taken by 
the circuit or district judge, in such penalty and with such security 
as he may direct, conditioned that the obliger shall prove the 
deI)tor to be a bankru])t, he will l)c enabled to recover damages 
to the extent of any injury which he may sustain in case the con- 
dition of the bond should be violated. The remedy, from its 
nature, could be no compensation for an injury sustained. To 
inform a man, after he had been arrested in the pursuit of his 
business by a commission of bankrui)tcy, after his prospects in 
life had been i;lasted, after his credit had Ijeen destroyed, and ■ 
after he had been pursued for years in a course of litigation 
which had terminated in his favor, that he might then enter 
upon another law-suit, and bring his action upon the bond, 
would be langhing at his calamity. 

" This would present no prospect of indemnity, even if the 
obligors should be solvent ; but from the ignorance of the 
judges, so far removed from the poojjle, as those of the United 
States necessarily are, respecting the solvency of the sureties ; 
and from the lapse of time which must transpire before any suit 



56 LIFE AND SERVICK8 OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

could be sustained upon liis bond, it would in most instances be 
of little or no value. These, then, would be the effects of the 
bill on the persons within its adverse operations. Let us next 
inquire what would be the moral and practical effects of this bill, 
with the amendment just adopted, of the gentleman from Ken- 
tucky. Should it pass in its present shape, I should shudder 
at the consequences. How will it affect the great agricultural 
interests of the country ? 

" I have the honor, in part, to represent a district chiefly com- 
posed of farmers. They are honest, they are industrious, and 
they esteem their contracts to be sacred and inviolable. The word 
of each of them, could their existence be perpetuated, binds 
them as forcibly as their bond. Have they, or have any other 
agriculturists over the whole range of this extensive Union, 
asked you to pass a bankrupt law in their favor ? Have they 
even petitioned you to discharge them from the obligation of their 
contracts, which they feel themselves as much bound in con- 
science as in law to perform? It is certain that many honest 
and respectable men of their valuable class of society have been 
unfortunate, and I pity them from my inmost soul ; but I 
beseech yon, spare them from a law for which they have never 
asked, and which would tempt them to add guilt to misfortune. 

" What then would be the necessary operation of such a law, 
when brought home to those and every other member of socie- 
ty ? Once declare that contracts shall be no longer sacred, 
that any debtor, whether he has been a trader or not, by com- 
plying with the provisions of the law, may have an election 
held by his creditors, and if two-thirds of these in number 
or value consent, may be relieved from all his debts against the 
will of the remainder ; and you make a direct attack on the 
very first principles of moral honesty, by which the great mass 
of the people have been hitherto directed. Let a bankrupt be 
presented to the view of society, who has become wealthy since 
his discharge, and who, after having ruined a number of his 
creditors, shields himself from the payment of his honest debts 



BANKRUPT BILL 57 

by liis certificate, and what effects would such a spectacle be 
likely to produce ? Examples of this nature must at length 
demorahze any people. The contagion introduced by the laws 
of the country, would for that very reason, spread like a pesti- 
lence, until honesty, honor, and faith will at l(3ngth be swept 
from the intercourse of society. Leave the agricultural interest 
pure and uucorrupted, and they will forever form the basis od 
which the Constitution and liberties of your country may safely 
repose. Do not, I beseech you, teach them to think lightly of 
the solemn obligations of contracts. No government in earth, 
however corrupt, has ever enacted a bankrupt law for farmers ; 
it would be a perfect monster in this country, where our institu- 
tions depend altogether on the virtue of the people. We have 
no constitutional power to pass the amendment proposed by the 
gentleman from Kentucky ; and if we had we never should do 
so, because such a provision would spread a moral taint through 
society which would corrupt it to its very core. 

" By the fifty-sixth section it is provided that any creditor of 
a bankrupt, appearing before the commissioners, may, at his 
election, have the validity of his claim determined in the circuK 
court of the district in which the bankrupt resides. The same 
privilege is extended to the assignee's objections to the validity 
of any claim upon the bankrupt, presented before the comm-s- 
sioners ; in this manner every lawsuit which could arise in the 
settlement of a bankrupt's estate, respecting the demands of 
any of his creditors, would be drawn into the circuit court for 
decision. This would be the case whether be became a bank- 
rupt voluntarily or by compulsion, and without any regard 
either to his occupation or place of residence, or thct of his 
creditors. The whole structure of the national judiciary 
would be changed. 

******* 

"Another serious objection to ihe passage of the bill Iz its 
manifest tendency to the peii)etratiou of fraud. It is true it 
has been strenuously maintained by its friends, that ic v. ill, in a 

3* 



58 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

great degree, repress that evil. Has the experience of Eng- 
laud justified them in making tliis prediction ? Does not the 
testimony tali;en before the House of Commons prove clearly the 
contrary ? Indeed so pressed down with weight was my honor- 
able colleague (Mr. Sergeant) that he was obliged to attribute 
the innumerable frauds which had been committed under the 
bankrupt law of that country, not to the operation of the law 
itself, but to the general corruption that prevailed among the 
people. This bill, should it become a law, must be productive 
of innumerable frauds, unless it will have the power changing 
the nature of man, and rendering him the less criminal because 
he is the more tempted. He who created man, and therefore 
knew best his heart, directed him to pray that he miglit not be 
led into temptation. This bill informs the debtor, that if he 
will conform to its provisions, he shall obtain a certificate which 
will discharge him from all his debts. The State insolvent laws 
declare to him that when he has given up all his property for 
the use of his creditors, he has done no more than his duty, and 
that his future acquisitions shall be answerable until his debts 
are paid. If a debtor can pass the- ordeal of this bankrupt 
law, and obtain his certificate, he may then in security enjoy 
that property which successful fraud has enabled him to conceal 
under the State insolvent laws ; however, he must -know that 
the moment his concealed property is brought to light, it is 
liable to be seized by his creditors. Whilst, therefore, a bank- 
rupt law holds out every temptation to make the debtor dis- 
honest, an insolvent law presents him no such inducement. In- 
deed, his true policy is directly the reverse. Upon his good and 
fair conduct, and tlie consequent favorable discharge of his cre- 
iitors, depends his hopes of a discharge. 

******* 

" I shall now come to my concluding argument against the 

passage of this bill. It would tend again to arouse the fpirit 

of wild and extravagant speculation, which has spread dis:ress 

far and wide over the land. It will tend again to produce those 



BANKRUPT BILL. 59 

• 

^vils for which its friends say it is intciKlcd to pro\'idc a reme- 
dy. "What has been the history of this country ? Upon this 
subject, let us not turn a deaf car to the dictates of experience 
It is the best teacher of political wisdom. 

" Under our glorious Constitution, the human mind is unre- 
strained in the pursuit of happiness, the calm of despotism does 
not rest upon us. Neither the institutions of the country, nor 
the habits of societj*; have established any ca.'ites within the 
limits of which man shall be confined. Tlie human intellect 
walks a1)road in its majesty. This admirable system of govern- 
ment, which incorporates the rights of man into the Constitu- 
tion of the country, develops all the latent resources of the 
intellect, and brings them into active energy. The road to 
wealth and to honor is not closed against the humblest citizen — 
and lleaven forbid that it ever should be ! It is however, the 
destiny of man to learn that evil often treads closely upon the 
footsteps of good. The very liberty we enjoy, unless restrained 
by the dictates of morality and of prudence, has a tendency to 
make us discontented with our conditiou. It often produces a 
restless temper, and a disposition to be perpetually changing 
our pursuits, for the purpose of becoming more wealthy and 
more distinguished. .The frame of mind produced by freedom, 
if kept within proper bound, is a source of the greatest advan- 
tages to society and to individuals : if unrestrained, and suffer- 
ed to run wild, it leads to every species of extravagance and 
tolly. 

" A few merchants both in the cities and in the country have 
amassed splendid and princely fortunes. These have glittered in 
the fancy of the thoughtless and unsuspecting countryman, and 
have moved his ambition or his avarice. lie never calculated 
that it requires a man of considerable parts with great ex- 
perience to make an accomplished merchant ; and that, with all 
these advantages, but few comparatively are successful. His 
son is taught book-keeping at a country .school, and then he 
abandons the pursuit of his fathers. lie leaves the business of 



60 LIFE Airo SEEVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

agriculture, which is the most peaceful, the most happy, the 
most independent, and, I might add, the most respectable, in 
society, to become a merchant. He spurns the idea of treading 
in the path of his ancestors, and acquiring his Hving by the 
sweat of his brow. Wealth and distinction have become his 
idols, and turned his brain. Is not this the history of thousands 
in our country within the last twenty years ? It was not diffi- 
cult to predict what would be the melancholy catastrophe. 
Bankruptcy and ruiu have fallen upon the thoughtless adven- 
turers. 

" Happy would it have been for the country had this spirit 
of speculation confined itself to the farmers who turned mer- 
chants. We have witnessed it spreading over every class of 
the community. We have, in innumerable instances, seen 
the plain, sober, industrious, and inexperienced farmer, con- 
verted iuto a speculator in bonds and stocks. We have lived 
in a time when the foundations of society appeared to be shaken, 
and when the love of gain seemed to swallow up every other 
passion of tlie heart. This disposition gave birth to hundreds 
and thousands of banks, which have spread themselves over 
the country. Their reaction upon the people doubled the force 
of the original cause which produced thorn. They deluged the 
country with bank paper. The price of land rose far above its 
real value ; it commanded from $200 to $400 per acre in many 
parts of the district which I have the honor, in part, to repre- 
sent ; and I know one instance in which a man agreed to give 
$1,500 per acre for a tract of land, which he afterwards laid 
out in town lots. He sold the lots at so large a profit, that 
he would have accumulated an independent fortune by the spec- 
ulation had not the times changed, and the lot-holders in conse- 
quence been unaljle to pay the purchase money. 

" The universal delusion has vanished, the enchantment is at 
an end ; the people have been restored to their sober senses. 
In the change, which was rapid, many honest and respectable 
citizens have been ruined. Among many, misery and want 



BANKRUPT BILL. 61 

have usurped the abodes of liappiuess and i)lenty. I most sin- 
cerely deplore their sitnatioa ; but, as legislators, we should all 
have some compassion upon the community. Experience has 
taught us a lesson which, I trust, we shall never forget — that 
a wild and extravagant spirit of speculation is one oX the 
greatest curses that can pervade our country. Do you wish 
agaiu to raise it ? Do you wish again to witness the desolation 
which it has spread over the land, and which we now are 
slowly repairing ? Then pass this bankrupt bill 1 Inform the 
farmer, who is now contented and happy, and whom experience 
has taught the danger of entering into trade, that he may 
become a merchant or a land jobber ; that he may proceed to 
any excess he thinks jiroper ; that he need confine the extrava- 
gance of his speculations within no other limit but the extent 
of his credit ; that if, at last, he should be successful, un- 
bounded wealth will be his portion, if not, the law will dis- 
charge him from all his debts, and enable him to begin a new 
career. Hold out a lure to the industrious classes in society to 
abandon their useful and honorable pursuits, and enter into 
speculation of some kind or other, by proclaiming it as the law 
that, if they should prove unsuccessful, their debts shall bo 
cancelled, and they shall be restored to their former situation. 
Such a law would present the strongest temptations to every 
man in society to become indolent and extravagant, because 
every man in society is embraced in its provisions. In these 
respects it is as novel as it is dangerous. Rest assured, Mr. 
Speaker, that our population require the curb more than the 
rein. If you hold out such encouragement to unbounded specu- 
lation as this bill j)resents, we shall, before many years, see all 
the occurrences agaiu presented before us which have involved 
the country in unexampled distress. The time may come, in 
ages hence, when a bankrupt law may become necessary for 
the encouragement of commerce. History has instructed us, 
that nations, like men, rise, and flourish, and decay. At pre- 
sent our population possess all the vigor and enterprise of 



62 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCUAlSrAN. 

youth. The stimulus of sucii a bill would drive us on to mad- 
ness It would be putting into the hands of Phaeton the reins 
of the chariot of the sun The day will come, but I trust it 
is oow far distant, when old age shall fall ui)on us as a nation, 
when wealth shall beget luxury and corruption, and when we 
shall be enfeebled in all our exertions. Then it may be neces- 
sary to hold out extraordinary allurements to commercial enter- 
prise. When that day shall arrive, wlien our country sjiall be 
sinking into decline, when her energies shall be paralysed, and 
when perhaps, a new Republic as vigorous as ours at present 
may be her competitor in commerce, then and not till then, 
will it be necessary that Congress should exercise the power 
vested in them by the Constitution, and pass uniform laws on 
the subject of bankruptcies." 

The vote on the bankrupt bill was taken immediately after 
the delivery of Mr. Buchanan's powerful argument against it, 
and was defeated by a vote of 99 nays to 12 ayes. Of the 
nays, fifty-four were from the southern States, while of the 
ayes only fifteen were from that section of our country. 

At this session, the question of internal improvements 
by Congress was brought up in a formidable manner. The 
presidential election was approaching, and the success of 
De Witt Clinton in New York, who was receiving all the 
honors of the day, ci'eated an intense desire in the minds of 
public men to be imitators in some way of his acts, in hopes 
that, at least, they might be able to catch a portion of the 
popularity he had achieved. The question came before Con- 
gress in a definite form, in a bill for making appropriations to 
repair the Cumberland road. Mr. Buchanan voted against the 
appropriation, and introduced a resolution to cede the road tc 
the States in which it laid. The resolution was not, however, 
then adopted, and the bill making appropriations for the repair 
of the road passed both houses of Congress, and was presented 
to Mr. Monroe for his signature. It drew from that distin> 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMKNTS. 63 

guishcd luan his celebrated Veto-Message upon interual iraprofc- 
meuts, iu which he weut iuto a thorough review of the eutire 
coustitutional question, showing how far the jurisdiction and 
authority of the Federal government extended iu such matters. 
This able aud convincing State-paper has never been answered, 
and it may be said to have settled the position of the demo- 
cratic party on this important question of po'itics. Mr. Adams 
undertook to question Monroe's view of this subject in his 
inaugural address, but it ouly served to awaken pubUc discus- 
sion upon the extent of constitutional power in the matter, and 
thus the sooner settle the true interpretation of the organic 
law. 

The second session of the seventeenth Congress commenced 

on the 2d of December, 1822, and ended on the 3d of 

March, 1823. There were a number of very important sul)jcct3 

brought before it for consideration, and among the acts passed 

were several of national interest. Among others was one to 

regulate the collection of duties, imposts, and tonnage, which 

excited considerable discussion. During this session an act was 

passed regulating our commercial intercourse with the British 

colonial pos,«essions in the West Indies, Nova Scotia, and New 

Brunswick. The most important discussion of this session was, 

however, on the tariif question. The general prostration of 

tuecbanical industry, consequent upon the previous period of 

Inordinate speculation, had rendered the people clamorous for 

some relief. We were just recovering from the effects of a 

war, and there seemed to be not only a universal demand, but 

a general want of some measure which would restore a healthy 

and prosperous tone to business. That party which contend 

that it is the duty of government to pass protective duties m 

Drder to foster manufacturing industry, were unceasing in tlioir 

demands for a new tariff bill. One was accordingly introduced, 

but as it did not seem to please either the friends or enemies of 

protection, it did not pass. Mr. Buchanan did not hesitate to 

exprewi^ l>ia opinion freely in regard to it. In some respects he 



64 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAME:^ BUCHANAN. 

approved of the measure, but uot as a protective act. He 
expressly stated that we were only authorized to impose a 
tariff for revenue and as such he advocated the bill before 
Congress. He showed, in the first place, the alarming deficit 
in the annual revenue of $1,250,000. Besides this, there was 
a permanent debt of over forty millions of dollars which must be 
met by some measure which it was the duty of Congress to pass. 

" There* can be no doubt," said Mr. Buchanan, "but that 
every member of this committee will concur with me in opinion, 
that our debt ought, if possible, to be discharged as soon as it 
shall be redeemable. No one will contend that a public debt 
is a public blessing. The payment of tlie national debt is one 
of the best means of preparing for war. The resources of the 
nation ought not to continue mortgaged to the public creditor ; 
but they should be ready to be applied at all times towards the 
defence of the country. This, at least, is my system of policy. 
Under this view of the subject, we are brought irresistibly to 
the conclusion, that revenue must be raised, at least that it 
ought to be raised. The question tlien is, from what objects 
shall we derive the means necessary to extinguish the national 
debt ? It is admitted by all that a duty upon imports is the 
most economical and least oppressive mode of raising revenue. 
It is the mode most in consonance with the character of a free 
people. It does not require the agency of the tax-gatherer 
or the excise- man. The practice of the government for more 
than thirty years has sanctified this method in tlie minds of the 
people. They will not bow readily submit to direct taxes or 
to excises when the country is at peace, — I say, emi)hatically 
when the country is at peace — because I know that in times of 
actual war, or of approaching danger, the American people 
will cheerfully submit to any sacrifices which may be necessary 
to provide for the common defence, and promote the security 
and glory of the nation." 

" The necessity of adopting a new tariff, for the purpose of 



THE TAKITF QUESTION. 65 

raiding revenue, has not only been stated by the Secretary, of 
the Treasury, but he has distinctly recommended many of the 
articles on the importation of which additional duties should be 
imposed. These arc all embraced in the provisions of the pres- 
ent bill, though the increase of duty is in several instances 
greater than what he recommended. Yet, notwithstanding its 
friends have declared their intention to amend it, and make it 
conform more nearly with that recommendation, this is the 
measure whose blasting influence, if adopted, gentlemen declare^ 
will paralyze agriculture, ruin commerce, and destroy the navy. 
Phantoms the most deadly and destructive, have been presented 
before the committee, as the natural offspring of this measure. 
One would almost be led to believe, that the bill now under 
consideration was the true box of Pandora, from which, if 
enacted into a law, all the evils that can invade the human race 
would proceed. The gentlemen from (Jcorgia and Massachu- 
setts (Mr. Tattnall and Mr. Gorham) have proclaimed it tyranny, 
f.ud tyranny which ought to be resisted. Yet all this mighty 
conflagration has been raised to intimidate us from adopting a 
system, which in substance has been recommended by the intelli- 
gent and independent oCQcer at the head of the treasury, merely 
because in its iudirect operation it may benefit certain neces- 
sary domestic manufactures. I confess I never did expect to 
hear inflammatory speeches of this kind within these walls, 
which ought to be sacred to union ; I never did expect to hear 
the East counselling the South to resistance, that we might 
thus be deterred from prosecuting a measure of policy, urged 
upon us by the necessities of the country. If I know myself, 
I am a politician neither of the Kast, nor of the West, of ike 
North, nor the South : I therefore shall forever avoid any crprcs- 
sions, the direct tendency of xchich, must he to create sectional jul- 
ousies, sectional divisions, and ct length disunion, t/uit worst and 
List of all political calamities." 

In the same speech, Mr. Buchanan took occasion to repeat 



CQ LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

tliat lie considered the bill as a revenue measure. "Money" 
said he, " must be collected — the public debt must be paid," and 
to do this he knew of no better or more equitable method, than 
to raise it by the imposition of duties upon foreign importations. 
In the course of this speech he paid the following eloquent tri- 
bute to the agricultural portion of society : 

" Gentleman have contended that should this bill be adopted, 
the agricultural interest of the country will be greatly injured. 
If this were the case, it would be a conclusive objection to its 
passage. The farmers are the most useful, as they are the most 
numerous class of society. No measure ought ever to be 
adopted by the government that will bear hardly upon them 
They are the body of men, among whom 3'ou may expect to 
find in an eminent degree that virtue without which your Amer- 
ican institutions could not continue to exist. Agriculture is 
the most noble employment of men. It communicates vigor to 
the body and independence to the mind. My constituents are 
principally farmers, and I should feel it both my duty and my 
inclination to resist any measure which would be pernicious to 
their interests. The agriculturists are the great body of con- 
sumers. It is from them that the revenue must be derived, no 
matter what may be the mode by which it is collected. They 
must equally pay it, whether in the shape of an excise, a land 
tax, or an impost on the importation of foreign articles. I wil"i 
never consent to adopt a general restrictive system, because that 
class of the community would then be left at the mercy of the 
manufacturers. The interest of the many would be sacrificed 
to promote the wealth of the few. The farmer, then, in addi- 
tion to the payment which he would be thus compelled to pay 
the manufactui'er, would have also to sustain the expenses of 
the government. If this bill proposed a system Avhich would 
lead to such abuses, it should not receive my support." 

The sessions of the seventeenth Congress were of more than 



TUE TAKIFF QUESTION. 67 

ordinary importance. There had been a number of questions 
before that body ^vhich commanded a wide-spread and general 
attention. The bankrupt hiw, the question of internal im- 
provements, and the doctrine of protection to manufactures, had 
all been ably and fully discussed. The friends of the bankrupt 
law had assailed the fortress of democracy and equal rights iu 
vain. They had been ])ut to flight iu their determined and 
arduous attempts to model our institutions upon the basis of the 
worn-out, effete, aristocratic, and special-privileged governments 
of Europe, where the masses arc the machines of the ruling 
classes. Among those who contributed in an eminent degree to 
achieve this result stands James Buchanan. At this day it is a 
gratilication to look over the records of the proceedings in Con- 
gress, and mark the names of those devoted friends to demo- 
cratic doctrines, who so nobly and heroically preserved them in 
the outset of our history as a nation, from the combined forces 
which federalism brought to bear against them. It is a lament- 
able fact that while our people have paid due homage to those 
who achieved by their swords our democratic institutions, they 
have not given the meed of honest, deserving praise to the men 
who immediately succeeded them, and who preserved this noble 
inheritance on the floor of our national legislature against all 
the arts which eloquence could maeter or sophistry invent. 
Among these names ought to stand forever remembered those 
of John Kaudolph, Nathaniel Alacon, John Taylor, George 
McDuffie, Andrew Stevenson, James Buchanan, and others 
equally deserving of honorable remembrance. 



68 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Tariff Act^Reception of Lafayette— The Niagara Sufferers— The Election of John 
Quincy Adams. 

The eighteenth Congress opened on the 1st of December, 
IS'I'S. Mr. Buchanan had been re-elected, and found upon his 
arrival at the capital, a number of new individuals whom he had 
not previously encountered in pubhc life. Among these were 
Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, then in the vigor of his youth ; 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, overflowing with the grand concep- 
tions he had formed of the great "American System ;" and 
Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, the eloquent lawyer, the pol- 
ished orator, and profound statesman. In the Senate, Hon. 
Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, had made his appearance, hail- 
ing from the Kansas of 1820, then the ultima thule of our west- 
ern advancement. General Jackson had been elected Senator 
from the State of Tennessee, and contributed not a little to the 
attraction of Washington society, by the prominent position in 
which he stood before the country, and the hopes which already 
many of his friends were forming of him for the future. Mr. 
Clay was chosen Speaker on the first day of the session, by a 
vote of 139 to 42, his opponent being the Hon. P. P. Barbour, 
of Virginia. Mr. Buchanan was placed on the Judiciary Com- 
mittee, of which Mr. Webster was chau'man ; a positiozi for 
which he was eminently qualified by his careful and accurate 
reading in all the details of law and jurisprudence. 

At this session the tariff bill came up again under the lead 



THE TAEIFF ACT. G9 

of Mr. Clay, who brought to its support all the powt-r of his 
oratory, and all the iullueuce which his personal character could 
produce. Ue had christened it " The American System ;" and 
such, iu the depressed condition of the country, there was some 
plausibility in calling it. The bill was contested inch by inch, 
Mr. Webster, afterwards a high tariff man, opposing it with all 
bis power. Besides Mr. "Webster, there were other able and 
distinguished advocates of free trade — Mr. Baylies, from his own 
State ; Mr. C. C. Cambreleng, of New York ; Messrs. Ran- 
dolph, Barbour, Stevenson, Kives, and Archer, of Virginia ; 
Messrs. Mangum and Saunders, of North Carolina ; Messrs. 
McDuffie, Hamilton, and Poinsett, of South Carolina ; Messrs. 
Forsyth and Cuthbert of Georgia ; Mr. Edward Livingston, of 
Louisiana, and others. Mr. Clay was the leading speaker on 
the other side of the question ; and after a protracted contest of 
ten weeks the bill was finally carried by only five majority. In 
the Senate the vote was still closer, where it stood twentj'-five 
to twenty-three. The bill never could have passed, had it not 
been for the depressed condition of the country, and the 
pressing demands upon the treasury for more revenue, in order 
to pay the public debt, if possible, as fast as it became due. 
As a revenue measure, it was voted for by Gen. Jackson in the 
Senate, by Mr. Buchanan in the House, and by other democratic 
members, who expressly stated their opposition to a tariff whoso 
object was simply protection. Congress adjourned on the 27tb 
of May, 1824. It had passed two hundred and eleven acts, and 
been a session of great activity and considerable importance. 
Mr. Buchanan had participated gertcrally in the discussions, and 
measured his powers with Mr. Webster in debate, and proved 
that even the youthful giant of Massachusetts found his peer, at 
h'ast, in the stately and careful logic of the son of Pennsylvania. 
Tlicre was at this session a great deal of president-making, 
the members of Congress then havmg more to do with the mat* 
ter than at present. Mr. Buchanan's preferences were well 
known to be in favor of Gen. Jackson, of whom he was an early 



70 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JA^VfES BUCHANAN'. 

and devoted friend. Gen. Jackson, Henry Clay, "W. H. Craw- 
frrd, and John Quincy Adams were the candidates, and all par- 
ties were preparing for a vigorous and determined campaign. 
It is well known, neither candidate received a majority of the 
electoral votes. It accordingly devolved upon the Hoase of 
Kepresentatives, at its next session, to elect a President. 

The second session of the eighteenth Congress was therefore 
looked forward to with great interest. It assembled at Wash- 
ington on the 6th of December, 1824. The very first event for 
which it was distinguished was the reception of Gen. Lafayette, 
then on a visit to the land which he had so nobly assisted in 
wresting from the grasp of a tyrannical oppressor. As Lafay- 
ette was one of those unfortunate men who happened to be born 
on foreign soil, and who in these later days, it is asserted, have 
become so inimical and dangerous to American liberty, it may 
be interesting to recur to the speech he deUvercd upon the 
august occasion when he was received by both houses of Con- 
gress. Mr. Clay was Speaker of the House, and in welcoming 
the illustrious stranger, in his most eloquent and imaginative 
strain, he said, " General, you are in the midst of posterity !" 
Lafayette, after saying that it had been liis happiness to be 
adopted as a young soldier, a favored son of America, remarked : 
" No, Mr. Speaker, posterity has not begun for me ; since in the 
sons of my companions and friends I find the same public feel- 
ings, and permit me to add, the same feelings in my behalf 
which I have had the happiness to experience in their fathers. 
Sir, I have been allowed, forty years ago, before a committee 
of Congress of thirteen States, to express the fond wishes of an 
American heart. On this day I have the honor to enjoy the 
delight, to congratulate the representatives of the Union so 
vastly enlarged, in the realization of those wishes, even beyond 
every human expectation, and upon the almost infinite prospects 
we can with certainty anticipate." 

. If Lafayette were " in the midst of posterity," at the present 
day, and surrounded with the cry of " America for Americans," 



I 



THE NIAGAK.V SUFFKRKRS. 71 

he could hardly say, " that he found the same public feelings, 
which he had the happiness to experience in our fathers." 

One of the lirst matters brought before Congress at this ses- 
sion, was a bill to indenuiify the sufferers on our Niagara fron- 
tier, caused by the wanton devastation of the British troop? 
during the war of 1812. Mr. Buchanan took the ground that 
if the property was destroyed in accordance with the rules of 
civilized warfare, then we were bound to indemnify the indi- 
viduals who had been injured. If such, however, were not the 
case, every motive of public policy forbade it. Mr. B. went on 
to show that if the bill then before the House should pass, we 
would stand before the world as having justified Great Britain 
iu her lawless and inhuman conduct — conduct that had met the 
reprobation of the civilized world. A short extract from Mr. 
Buchanan's speech on this subject, will show the perfidious con- 
duct of the British troops, as well as his own exact position upon 
the bill : 

Mr. B. said, " There was another view which this subject 
presents, which adds the guilt of perfidy to that of violation of 
the laws of war. Whilst the village of Buffalo still presented a 
hostile front to the enemy, a capitulation was entered ujto 
by Col. Chapin, of our army, with Gen. Kail, who commanded 
the British forces. By that instrument, it was solely agreed, 
' that private property and private persons should not be moles- 
ted or injured.' Upon the faith of this capitulation, the British 
forces entered the town. The testimony proves that before its 
date they were all acquainted with the fact that a large body 
of the United States troops had been quartered there, and that 
many of the houses were places of military deposit. With a 
full knowledge of these circumstances, they entered into the 
capitulation. What was then their subsequent conduct ? h\- 
stead of separating the military stores from the houses in which 
they were deposited, instead of destroying puljlic property, they 
involved the whole village iu one common coullagratioo. At 



72 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCnANAN. 

the most inclemeut season of the year m a northern climate, 
regardless of their faith, they set fire to the town, and drove its 
inhabitants to seek shelter and bread from the compassion of 
strangers. And this, under pretence of what they well knew 
before the capitulation, that there were military stores deposited 
in many of the private houses. And yet this destruction is 
attempted to be justified by the laws of war established among 
civilized nations. Sir,". said Mr. B., " I may be asked if I am 
willing to afford these sufferers any relief ? I answer without 
hesitation, I am not. They have claims upon our generosity, 
not upon our justice. I would mitigate their calamities, not 
indemnify them for their losses. They have suffered more than 
the common misfortunes of war — they are therefore entitled to 
the compassion of paternal government." 

The most exciting, and indeed, important business, before 
this Congress, was the election of President. A long debate 
ensued upon the rules to be adopted in conducting the election 
by the House of Representatives. In the course of the discus- 
sion, it was proposed to sit in secret conclave, if the delegation 
of any one State demanded it. This Mr. Buchanan opposed 
with indignant eloquence, showing most conclusively how firm 
was his reliance on the popular intelligence, and how earnest 
his devotion to the rights of the people. 

"The American people," said Mr. B., "have a right to be 
present and inspect all the proceedings of their representatives, 
unless their own interests forbid it. In relation to our concerns 
with foreign governments, it may become necessary to close our 
galleries. Our designs in such cases might be frustrated if 
secrecy were not for a time preserved. Whenever there shall 
be disorder in the gallery, we have also a right to clear it, and 
are not bound to suffer our proceedings to be interrupted. 
Except in these cases he at present could recollect none which 
would justify the House in excluding the people. 



TIIK ELKCTTON OF JOHN Ql'INCV AP\MS. 73 

" lu electing- a Frcsidont of-tlie United States," said Mr. ]}., 
"we are, in uiy opinion, peculiarly the representatives of the 
the peojjle. On that important occasion, we shall emphatically 
represent their majesty. We do not malve a President for our- 
selves only, but also for the whole pcoi)le of the United States. 
They have a right that it shall be done in public. He there- 
fore protested against going into a secret conclave whea the 
Uouse should decide this all-important question. He said that 
the doctrine of the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. McLane) 
was altogether new to his mind. That gentleman has alleged 
that we are called upon to elect a President, not as the repre- 
sentatives of the people, but by virtue of the Constitution. 
Sir," said !Mr. B., " who created the Constitution ? Was it 
not the people of the United States ? And did they not by this 
very instrument delegate us as representatives, the power of 
electing a President for them ? It is by virtue of this instru- 
ment we hold our seats here. And, if there be any case in 
which we are bound to obey their will, this is peculiarly that 
one. To them we must be answerable for the proper exercise 
of this duty. 

" What are the consequences which will result from closing 
the doors of the gallery ? We shall impart to the election an 
air of mystery. We shall give exercise to the imaginations of 
the multitude in conjecturing what scenes are acting within the 
hall. Busy Rumor, with her hundred tongues, will circulate 
reports of wicked combination, and of corruptions which have 
no existence. Let the people see what we are doing ; let them 
know that it is neither more nor less than putting our ballots 
into our boxes, and they will soon become satisfied with the 
spectacle and retire. The gentleman from Delaware (Mr. 
McLane) has urged upon us the precedent which now exists on 
this subject. Mr. Buchanan said he revered the men of former 
days by whom this precedent was established, lie had good 
reason, however, to believe that the intense excitement which 
existed at that time among the people at the seat of govern- 

4 



74: LIFF AND SEKVICES OF JAJiIES EUCHANAN. 

ment was occasioned in a considerable degree by their exclusion 
from the gallery. They came in crowds into the house, but were 
prohibited from entering the hall. Currents aad counter-cur- 
rents of feeling kept them continually agitated. New conjec- 
tures of what was doing within were constantly spreading among 
them. Mystery always gives birth to suspicion. If those people 
had been permitted to enter, much of the excitement which 
then prevailed would never have existed. 

" It has been said that there might and probably would be 
disorder if we admitted the people into the gallery. Mr. B. 
could scarcely believe this possible. He had too high an opinion 
of the American people to suffer himself to entertain such an 
apprehension. Should we, however, be mistaken, where is the 
power of the Speaker ? Where that of the House ? We can 
turn them out, and we shall then have a sufficient apology for 
doing so. But to declare in the first instance that thcj shall 
be excluded upon the request of any one out of twenty-four 
States would be a libel both on the people of the United States 
and the members of the House. Mr. B. asked pardon for the 
expression if it were considered too harsh. 

" Mr. B. said he knew well his friend from Delaware was 
willing that all his conduct in regard to the presidential ques- 
tion should be exhibited before the public, and that it was 
principle and principle alone which had suggested his remarks. 
That which gives this subject its chief importance, Mr. B. said, 
is the precedent. He was anxious that it should be settled ou 
sure foundations. If the rule in its present form should bo 
adopted, it may and probably will be dangerous in future 
times. At present our republic is in its infancy. At this 
time he entertained no fear of corruption. In the approaching 
election it can, therefore, make but httle difference whether the 
gallery shall be opened or closed. But the days of darkness 
may, and, unless we shall escape the fate of all other Republics, 
will, come upon us. Corruption may yet stalk abroad over out 
iiappy land. When she aims a blow against the liberties oi 



TIIK KLKCTIOX OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 75 

the people it will be done ia secret. Such deeds always sbow 
the ligiit of day. They can be perpetrated with a much greater 
diance of success, in the secrecy of an electoral conclave, than 
when the proceedings of the llouse are fully exposed to public 
^iew. Let us then establish a precedent, which will have a 
strong tendency to prevent corrupt practices hereafter." 

The result of the election is "well known to every one at all 
acquainted with political history. In the electoral college John 
Quincy Adams received 84 votes, AVilliani 11. Crawford 41, 
Andrew Jackson 99, and Ileury Clay 37. Adams, Crawford, 
aud Jackson being the three candidates who had received the 
highest number of votes, and neither a raajoi'ity, it devolved 
upon the House of Representatives to make a choice of a 
President. There were at that time twenty-four States, and 
Mr. xVdams received the votes of thirteen, Mr. Crawford of 
four, and Gen. Jackson of seven. Thus, though Gen. Jack- 
son was without doubt the popular choice, he was defeated, as 
was generally charged at that time, by an arrangement between 
the friends of Mr. Clay and Mr. Adams, by which the former 
was to receive the position of Secretary of State under the 
new administration. This charge was indignantly repelled by 
Mr. Clay and his friends, and as Mr. Buchanan has been 
stoutly charged with having originated the report, the facts 
of the case should be known. The truth is, that the idea of 
the friends of Mr. Clay and Mr. Adams uniting, originated in 
Washington, at first from surmises, founded as much as any- 
thing upon the well-known hostility of Mr. Clay to " a military 
candidate." These AVashington rumors were first communi- 
cated to the public by Hon. George Kremer, of Pennsylvania, 
in a letter to a western new.spaper, and they were mentioned 
by Mr. Buchanan to Gen. Jackson, with whom he was on terms 
of much intimacy, and whose election he greatly desired. In 
the course of the conversation. Gen. Jackson indignantly re- 
marked, that before he would " be guilty of such an act, he 



76 LIFE Am) SEKYICES OF JA3IES BUCHANAN. 

would see the earth open and swallow 2(,p both Mr. Clay and 
bis friends and himself with them." The fact, however, that 
Mr. Clay accepted office in Mr. Adams's administration, was 
the principal ground upon which the charge was grounded. 
They had been opposing candidates at the presidential elec- 
tion, and, however pure may have been the acts both of Mr. 
Adams and Mr. Clay, the fact of the latter going into Mr. 
Adams' cabinet, and the fact of his friends having been the 
means of placing Mr. Adams in his distinguished position, 
could not be separated in the minds of the people. It is 
doubtless true that no bargain existed. Mr. Benton in his 
" Thirty Years' View " does Mr. Clay the justice to say that he 
knew of his determination to vote for Mr. Adams, and not for 
Gen. Jackson, before the 12th of December, 1824. Mr. Clay's 
friends have always complained bitterly of the injustice done 
him by this rumor, and a few of the more malevolent have 
tried to connect Mr. Buchanan with it, but without the least 
foundation. He merely stated rumors to Gen, Jackson, which 
were current in private cu-cles, and which had even been pub- 
lished in the public journals. The fact is, that it was not so 
much the rumor of " bargain and sale " that injured Mr. Clay, 
as it was the disregard of the will of the people in the election 
of Mr. Adams. Gen. Jackson had the highest number of 
votes of any of the candidates, and the preferences of some 
of the States which had voted for Mr. Clay himself, it was 
well known were for Gen. Jackson as their second choice. Yet 
the friends of Mr. Clay in Congress assumed to virtually decide 
that " military Presidents " were dangerous, or, in other words, 
that the people did not know enough to choose their own pub- 
lic officers. Whatever may be said about the " bargain and 
sale " story, this was the real issue in the election, and this dis- 
regard for the popular will, was doubtless the error of Mr. Clay's 
life, for he soon after joined the whigs (then called national 
republicans), and entirely lost the position in the democratic 
party he once occupied. The election of Mr. Adams was, of 



THE ELLCTION OF JOUN QUIN'Cr ADAMS. 77 

course, perfectly legal, but the will cif the people had neverthe- 
less becu deleated, aud most proudly did they vindicate their 
sovereignty at the next election, when they sent " the hero of 
New Orleans " to the presidential chair with a majority which 
no traCBcking could destroy, or no chicanery evade. Mr. 
Buchanan, in a speech in Congress in 1828, referring to Mr. 
Clay's accepting ofiBce in Mr. Adams's cabinet, exclaimed with 
true prophetic inspiration, " What brilliant prospects has that 
man not sacrificed I" 



78 LIFE AXD SEEYICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER V. 

j^U(J:ciary System — Mission to Panama — Surviving Officers of tlie Eevolution. 

The luneteenth Congress met on the 5th of December, 1825, 
Mr. Clay, having taken a seat in Mr. Adams's cabinet, was not 
a member of the House. Hon. John W. Taylor of New York, 
was chosen Speaker. Mr. Buchanan had been reelected, and 
was now commencing his third term. Messrs. Levi Woodbury, 
and Samuel Bell of New Hampshire, made their appearance in 
the Senate at this session. John Eandolph, by the favor of 
the Virginia Legislature, had been transferred from the House ; 
Mr. Berrien of Georgia, was there for the first time, as was 
Gen. Harrison of Ohio, afterwards President. In the House, 
among the new members, were Hon. Gulian C. Verplanck, and 
Gen. Aaron Ward, of New York, W. C. Rives of Virginia, and 
W. P. Mangum of North Carolina. 

An important discussion took place during this session upon 
the Judiciary System. It arose upon a bill reported by Mr. 
Webster from the Judiciary Committee, of which Mr. Buchanan 
was a member, for the appointment of three new judges, for 
the purpose of reUeving tlie pressing demands of business in the 
western States. The bill was, for some reasons, vehemently 
opposed. During the debate, the whole question of ouv judi- 
ciary system passed under discussion, and on the 9th and 10th 
of January, Mr. Buchanan made a long and elaborate speech 
upon the bill, evincing profound acquaintance with the whole 
range of law and jurisprudence. No speech, probably, was ever 



JTDICIARY SYSTEM. 79 

delivered ou the same subject on tlie Qoor of Congress which 
showed ;rrealer familiarity with all the details of law. It was a 
convincing- proof of tlie possession of tluit accuracy of mind and 
discrimination of intellect wluch are the foundation of all true 
greatness. No man can be truly famous who neglects details ; 
upon tlicso, as upon the concrete mass of the granite, rests the 
superstructure whiv^h commands the respect and admiratiou of 
the beholder. 

The mission to the Congress of Panama, proposed by Mr. 
Adams, was, however, the exciting topic of discussion during 
the session. The hidependeuce of the South American Repub- 
lics had been recognized during the preceding session, Mr. Bu- 
chanan as a devoted friend of liberty ahd free institutions giving 
it his most cordial support. The mission to Panama was, 
however, quite another aflair. Mr. Clay, with all the ardor of 
his uupulsive nature, had become an enthusiast in regard to the 
Southern Republics which had just then thrown off that /oke of 
oppression which Spain had so long laid upon them. Ha sefim-.d 
to have conceived a kind of " holy alliance " among the !;■.«> 
publics of this continent somewhat similar to the one -Vi^icn 
existed in Europe, among the royal robbers and despots ior Lcie 
subjugation of the people. The idea was at least romantic. 
Here was one Republic, already a great nation, which had 
thrown off the power of George 111., and which had, after 
thirty years, again driven invaders from the same country froin 
its soil. The colonial dependencies of Spain had followed 
the example, and emerging from the long night of Spanish 
despotism, had asserted the glorious and sublime truth of free- 
dom and equahty. Why should not these young nations, just 
beginning to tread the virgin soil of a new era in the world's 
history, unite in alliance to protect and defend liberal institu- 
tions on this continent ? What reasonable olycctiun could be 
urged against a course which seemed so palpably the dictate as 
well of duty as of patriotism ? It is proper to say, that the 
first view of the question was a favorable one for the course 



80 LIFE AND SERVICES OjiT JAIIES BUCHANAN. 

recommended by Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay. It was popular. 
It appealed to the wannest and holiest senthnent, next to love to 
God, which animates all American bosoms — the love of liberty. 

Considering that Mr. Buchanan was among the first to 
desire the recognition of the independence of these Republics, 
it may seem strange that he opposed Mr. Clay's brilliant 
scheme ; yet he did, and as it has turned out, he may well 
congratulate himself upon the stand he then assumed. And 
this country may well congratulate itself that it never consent- 
ed to be mingled up with these hybrid Eepublics, where liberty 
has been but a name, and where those distinctions of race 
which the Almighty has so indelibly marked upon the human 
family have been disregarded, and, as a consequence, most cf 
these countries this day present scarcely more than a mass of 
diseased and bestiahzed mongrelism, lamentable evidence of 
God's punishment and vengeance upon all nations which dare 
to disregard his laws. The following extracts from Mr. Bu- 
chanan's speech on this subject delivered on the 11th of April, 
1826, shows with what profound sagacity he saw and compre- 
hended the future. 

" Mr. Chairman : I cannot say, with the gentleman from Vii'- 
ginia (Mr. Powell), who spoke first in this debate, that I am 
no party man. To a certain extent I am a party man. It is 
well known, that, at the last presidential election, I gave my 
warm and decided support to the distinguished individual whom 
the people of this country sent to the House of Representatives 
with a large plurality of electoral votes. It is my fixed purpose 
to give the same individual my feeble support in the next con- 
test. I shall consider the next election as an appeal from the 
House of Representatives to the people, for the purpose of tra- 
versing a precedent which I consider dangerous to their liber- 
ties. To this extent I am willing to confess myself a party man, 
as I never wish even to be suspected of fighting under false 
colors. 



MISSION TO PANA^rA. 81 

" If, however, any gentleman upon this floor has intended to 
charge me with being engaged in a factious opposition to the 
measures of the present administration, I now indignantly cast 
hack the charge upon him, and pronounce it to be unfounded. 
A factious opposition consists in opposing wise measures, because 
they have been recommended by particular men. I never have 
and never shall pursue this course. It would be as impolitic as 
it is unjust. The people of the United States will never sustain 
such an opposition. If any circumstance in which he had no 
concern could, in my native State, prostrate the illustrious indi- 
vidual whom she still dehghts to honor, it would be, that his 
friends in Congress were concerned in factiously opposing the 
measures recommended by the present administration. But do 
gentlemen expect to carry tverything in this House which viay 
be proposed by the executive, merely by attempting to brand 
the opposition with the name of faction ? I trust that such is not 
their intention. I feel certain if it be, Me?/ will be disappointed. 

"I protest against the measure now before the committee 
being considered a party measure. I am willing to follow the 
example of the iudividual to whom I have already alluded, and 
judge the tree by its fruits. I have not a single feeling of per- 
sonal hostility against the present chief magistrate of this Union 
I shall always endeavor to do him justice. There is, however, 
in my opinion, just cause of comi)laint against his friends on this 
floor, for endeavoring to make the subject before the committee 
a party question. The cause of liberty in South America is the 
cause of the whole American people not of any party. An oppo- 
sition to that sacred cause never will, never can, be cherished 
by the friends of that individual who refused to accept a mission 
to Mexico, merely because Mexico was then suffering under the 
despotic sway of a tyrant and a usurper. Nothing but a 
strong sense of duty will induce any geutlemau upon this floor 
to resist his own inclinations, and to stem what seems to be lh< 
popular current, by giving his vote against this mission. 
****** 
4* 



82 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BCCHANAN. 

" It will here be necessary to take a short historical view of 
our relations with the Southern Republics. Within the last few 
years we have seen in this hemisphere seven new republics 
emerging from the chaos of Spanish colonial despotism. The 
whole American people beheld this cheering-^spectacle with 
heartfelt satisfaction. We watched their progress with the 
most intense anxiety, and, marching in the van of nations, we 
first declared them to be free, sovereign, and independent. 
This declaration now is, and will for ever continue to be, one of 
the most glorious events in our annals. It was made on the 
4th of March, 1822, and all hailed it with pride and with plea- 
sure. In the summer of 1823, the Holy Alliance, at the request 
of Spain, were called upon to assist in subjugating what she was 
pleased to call her revolted colonies. The most serious appre- 
hensions were then entertained that an unholy crusade was to 
be proclaimed against the cause of liberty and republican gov- 
ernment, wherever they existed, over the whole earth. In this 
alarming posture of affau-s, did we give any pledge to foreign 
nations ? Did we commit the faith of the country to all or any 
of the Southern Eepublics ? Certainly not. We maintained the 
same independent position which we had always occupied in our 
relations with foreign nations. The celebrated message of Mr. 
Monroe, of December 2d, 1823, announced to the Holy Alliance 
and to the world that we could not view with indifference the 
hostile interposition of any European power against the inde- 
pendence of the Southern Republics, but would consider such an 
attempt as dangerous to our own peace and safety. This 
declaration was re-echoed by millions of freemen. 

****** 

" The President, in his message to the Senate, distinctly stated, 
that one object which he had in view in accepting the invitation, 
was to influence the Southern nations to change their political 
constitutions in regard to their estabhshed rehgion, and to intro* 
duce universal toleration. From the state of public opinion in 
those countries, an attempt of this nature would spread one 



MISSION TO PANAMA. 83 

universal flame over the whole Soiitheni continent. With 
A^hatever justice the enemies of the Catholic religion may say it 
has been a scourge to liberty in other countries, it has certainly 
been a blessing to the Southern Republics. Its ministry, so far 
from having set therase'ves in array against the principles of 
Uberty, took a leading and an eflioieut part in accomplishing 
the revolution. This assertion is true, in its utmost extent, in 
relation to Mexico. The President, having discovered the dan- 
ger of such an interference at the present time, very prudently 
changed his attitude in his message to this House, and now 
only intends to ask, at Panama, what I feel confident all the 
nations will grant without the least difiBculty — the liberty to our 
citizens, while they reside within any of the Republics, of wor- 
shipping their God according to the dictates of their own con- 
science. 

" I come now to speak of a subject deeply interesting to my 
own constituents, and the State which I have the honor, in 
part, to represent, as well as the rest of the Union. We have 
often been told, as an argument against these amendments, that 
they imply a want of confidence in the executive. Judging 
from their conduct in relation to the Island of Cuba, I am justi- 
fied in declaring that my confidence in them is shaking in every- 
thing which regards the Southern Republics. England and 
France have been warned by our government, in the most sol- 
emn and formal manner, that we could not consent to the occu- 
pation of that island by any other European power than Spain, 
under any contingency whatever. Ought not the same course 
to have been pursued towards the South American Republics ? 
The reasons for adopting this policy, a.« I shall presently show, 
arc at least as strong in the one case as in the other ; but, yet, 
the documents prove that the Cabinet had arrived at a different 
conclusion. From them, it is evident that our government did 
not intend to interfere for the purpose of preventing an invasion 
of that island by Mexico and Colombia. Mr. Clay, in his letter 
of December last, to the ministers of these two nations, request- 



84: LIFE Aim SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

ed only that their invasion of Cuba might be suspended until 
the result of our interference in their favor with the European 
powers should be ascertained. In his letter to Mr. Middleton, 
our minister at St. Petersburgh, dated in May last, which he 
read to the minsters of Mexico and Columbia, he entered into a 
long argument to justify an invasion of that island by these 
Eepublics, in case Spain should prove obstinate, and not recog- 
nise their independence. I will not trouble the committee by 
reading this despatch to them, as it is m the hands of every 
member. 

" The vast importajuce of the Island of Cuba to the people of 
the United States, may not be generally known. The com- 
merce of this island is of immense value, particularly to the 
agricultural and navigating interests of the country. Its impor- 
tance has been rapidly increasing for a number of years. To 
the middle, or grain-growing States, this commerce is almost 
indispensable. The aggregate value of goods, wares, merchan- 
dise, the growth, produce and maimfacture of the United 
States exported annually to that island, now exceeds three mil- 
lions and a half of dollars. Of this amount, more than the one- 
third consists of two articles, of pork and flour. The chief of 
the other products of domestic origin, are fish, fish-oil, sperma- 
ceti-candles, timber, beef, butter and cheese, rice, tallow-cau- 
dles and soap. Our principal imports from that island are cof- 
fee, sugar, and molasses, articles which may almost be consid- 
ered necessaries of life. The whole amount of our exports to 
it, foreign and domestic, is nearly six millions, and our imports 
nearly eight millions of dollars. The articles which constitute 
the medium of this commerce, are both bulky and ponderous, 
and their transportation employs a large portion of our foreign 
tonnage. More than one-seventh of the whole tonnage enga- 
ged in foreign trade, which entered the ports of the United 
States during the year ending the last day of September, 1824, 
came from Cuba ; and but little less than that proportion of 
the tonnage employed in our export trade sailed for that island 



MISSION TO P.VNAMA. 85 

Its commerce is at present more valuable to the United States 
tliaQ that of all the Southern Republics united. IIow, then, 
can the American people even agree that this island shall be 
mvaded by Colombia and Mexico, and pass under their domin- 
ion ! Ought wc not to avert its impending fate, if possi- 
ble ? 

" Important as the island may be to us in a commercial, it 
is still more important in a political, view. From its position it 
commands the entrance to the Gulf both of Mexico and Flor- 
ida. The report of our Committee of Foreign Relations, truly 
says, ' that the Moro may be regarded as a fortress at the 
mouth of the Mississippi.' Any power in possession of this 
island, even with a small naval force, could hermetically seal 
the mouth of the Mississippi. Thus the vast agricultural pro- 
ductions of that valley, which is drained by the father of rivers, 
might be deprived of the channel which nature intended for 
their passage. A large portion of the people of the State, one 
of whose representatives I am, find their way to market by the 
^Mississippi. For this reason I feel particularly interested in 
this part of the subject. The great law of self-preservation, 
which is equally binding on individuals and nations, commands 
us, if we cannot obtain possession of this island ourselves, not 
to suffer it to pass from Spain, under whose dominion it will be 
harmless, and yet our government have never even protested 
against its invasion by Mexico and Colombia. 

" There is still another view of the subject in relation to this 
island, which demands particular attention. Let us for a 
moment look at the spectacle which it will probably present 
in case Mexico and Colombia should attempt to revolutionize 
it. Have they not always marched under the standard of uni- 
versal emancipation ? Have they not always conquered by pro- 
claiming liberty to the slave ? In the present condition of this 
island what shall be the probable consequence ? A servile war, 
which in every age has been the most barbarous and destructive, 
and wliich spares neither age nor sex. Pvcvenge, urged on by 



86 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAl^AK. 

cruelty and iguorauce, would desolate tlie land. The dreadful 
scenes of St. Domingo would again be presented to our view, 
and would again be acted almost within sight of our own 
shores. Cuba would be a vast magazine in tlie vicinity of the 
southern States, whose explosion would be dangerous to their 
tranquillity and peace. Is there any man in this Union who 
could for one moment indulge the horrid idea of abolishing 
slavery by the massacre of the highminded and chivalrous race 
of men in the south ? I trust there is not one. For my own 
part, I would without hesitation, buckle on my knapsack and 
march in company with my friend from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Everett) in defence of their cause." 

The consent of Congress for the appointment of the mission 
to Panama, was at length obtained, though in a modified form 
from what was first asked. Few questions ever before Con- 
gress attracted for the time more attention than this proposed 
mission. It was the Monroe doctrine, and a step beyond, and 
was opposed by the democracy of that day, simply because 
they saw and knew it was only an effort of Mr. Adams to secure 
popularity, and that he himself, as it afterwards appeared, had 
no idea of entering into such " entangling alliances " as was 
unavoidable if the mission were carried out as at first sugges- 
ted. It was, in fact, one of those false excitements raised by 
the enemies of democracy to divert the public mind from real 
issues. It had its day, like many others which have been born 
and nursed since, producing for the time excited and even in- 
temperate discussion, but finally leaving tho principles of genu- 
ine democracy only the clearer and brighter, on account of the 
transitory storm that had darkened the poUtical atmos- 
phere. 

The reader will not fail to notice by the above speech of Mr. 
Buchanan, that the importance of allowing no nation to take 
possession of Cuba in place of Spain, is no new doctrine of his. 
When it was delivered in 1826, it was considered too conserva- 



SURVIVING OFFICEllS OF TIIL KEVOLUTION. 87 

tivc, uow the same patriotic views are denounced as " filibus- 
tcrisui." 

"The second session of the nineteenth Congress commenced 
on the 1st of December, 182G, and ended on the 3d of ^larcli, 
Ib^T. Ahuost the lirst business that came before it was a bill 
for the relief of the surviving oflQcers of the Revolution. It was 
opposed by many members, but sustained by Mr. Buchanan, in 
a speech of great eloquence and power, in which he triumph- 
antly vindicated the duty of government in providing for the 
wants of its defenders. Upon an amendment to extend the 
provisions to the State militia, and which was intended to kill 
the bill, Mr. Buchanan said : 

" Sir, has it ever been the practice of this government to pro- 
vide for the militia ? Are they before you asking for any such 
provision ? The wealth of Croesus would have been as that of 
a beggar — the riches of I'lutus would have been exhausted, in 
pensioning all the militia who served during the war of inde- 
pendence. I feel as much gratitude to them for their services 
as any man. A recollection of their glorious achievements must 
warm the breast of every patriot. They have given renown to 
their country ; but their occasional service of a few months does 
not, cannot, place them upon an equality with the soldiers who 
fought, and suflfercd, and bled, for years in the sacred cause of 
hberty. The regular soldier-was contiimally sulject to martial 
law ; he was compelled to remain in the service summer and 
winter ; and, as the gentleman from Ehode Island had elo- 
quently said, he had marked the frozen soil of his country with 
the blond which flowed from his unshod feet. 

" Who are before you asking for relief? They are the reni- 
np.nts of the band who achieved your independence. They are 
now suffering the evils both of age and poverty. Thoy have 
lived so long as to be forgotten ; it would seem that they had 
become pilgrims and sojourners in the land. The beautiful and 
bountiful feast which they have purchased for the American 



88 



LIFE A3SD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANA2f. 



people, with their sufferings and with their blood, is open to all 
but to them. The few veterans who survive theh' generation 
again ask — what they have hitherto asked in vain — relief from 
their country. This has never been hitherto granted ; nay, 
more, we have refused to make any direct decision on their 
claims. Let us not shrink from meeting the case faMy ; let 
them know their fate." 



The bill finally became a law, and the worthy veterans who 
sustained the doubtful and arduous struggle for independence 
were at least partially rewarded for their trials and their sacri- 
fices. The business of this session was not very important, and 
although there were many minor subjects of discussion, in most 
of which Mr. Buchanan, as usual, took a prominent and leading 
part, yet, as a whole^ the proceedings of the session are barren 
of historical interest. 



KETRENCHMKNT. bd 



CHAPTER VI. 

Retrenchment— Mr. Adams' Administration — Dress of Foreign Ministers— Naturalization 
Laws — Retirement of Mr. Macon. 

The Twentictli Congress convened on the 3d of December 
1827. Hon. Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, was chosCT 
Speaker. In tlie Senate were such able debaters as Woodbury, 
"Webster, Van Burcn, Macon, Hayne, Berrien, and Benton. Id 
the House were John Davis, Edward Everett, C. Mallory, Cam- 
brcleng, Michael Hoffman, Silas Wright, W. S. Archer, P. P. 
Barbour, John Randolph, George McDuffie, John Bell, James 
K. Polk, Edward Livingston, and Edward Bates. A new 
Tariff bill was introduced at this session, and was contested 
inch by inch, but finally passed the House by eleven and the 
Senate by four majority. Mr. Buchanan participated fully in 
the discussion ; but as we have, in a previous chapter, given 
his opinions on this question, it is unnecessary to repeat them. 
Retrenchment was another subject which engaged the attention 
of this Congress. It is very common for Congressmen to talk a 
great deal on this point, but they seldom advocate any practical 
ractliod in order to reach the desired object without delay or 
difficulty. Not so, however, Mr. Buchanan ; he proposed a 
measure, which by simplicity of operation, laid the axe at tlie 
root of the tree. In the course of the debate, he remarked : — 

" I have a word to say to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Barney) before I take my scat. I am prepared at this time, 
and at all times, to act upon the subject of reduciug our own 



90 LIFE AND SERYICES OF JAMES BUG HAN AN. 

pay. In relation to this question, I formed a deliberate opinion 
six years ago, which my experience ever since has served to 
strengthen and confirm, that the per diem allowance of mem- 
bers of Congress ought to be reduced. As a compensation for 
our loss of time, it is at present wholly inadequate. There is no 
gentleman fit to be in Congress, who pursues any active business 
at home, who does not sustain a clear loss by his attendance 
here. If we consider our pay in reference to our individual ex- 
penses, it is too much. It is more than sufficient to cover our 
expenses. I believe that the best interests of the country 
require that it should be reduced to a sum no more than suf- 
ficient to enable us to live comfortably whilst we are here. For 
my own part, I do not, like the gentleman from Maryland, give 
a,way to my constituents my per diem allowance. I receive it 
and nse it for my own benefit. It seems that gentleman uses 
the surplus of his pay, in displaying his liberality to his consti- 
tuents ; by making donations to churches and charitable insti- 
tutions at public expense. In this manner he may use it most 
effectually for his own advantage ; but still I am inclined to 
believe his constituents, as well as mine, would be quite as well 
satisfied, if the surplus were allowed to remain in the treasury 
for the benefit of the nation. If the government of this country 
should ever want almoners to distribute their bounty, the last 
men wliom the people should desire to employ in this office, 
would be members of Congress. It might be dangerous to trust 
them with the performance of such duty." 

During the course of the same debate on the subject of 
" lietreuchmcnt," Mr. Buchanan took occasion to explain more 
fully his reasons for advocating a reduction of pay. 

Said Mr. B., " when I expressed myself friendly to a reduc- 
tion of our own per diem allowance, I trust neither the gentle- 
man from Maryland (Mr. Barney), nor any other upon this 
floor, attributed my remarks to the grovelling and selfish desu'e 



KETREXCnMENT. 91 

of couvtin;j:; popularity. The people of this country are too 
clciir-sighlL'd aud too iutcUigeut to be deceived by such preten- 
ces. I here distinctly avow the saving of money to the public 
treasury was far from being the chief reason which influenced 
my mind in arriving at the conclusion that our per diem should 
ie reduced. I lirmly believe that my own constituents would 
not regard it a single straw, whether I voted for eight or four 
dollars per day. My motive was of a higher nature. My 
remarks, I trust, sprung from a noble source. If the gentle- 
man from North Carolina (Mr. Culpepper) had reasoned upon 
the fact which he stated, and had drawn the fair deduction from 
it, he would, 1 think, feel the force of the remarks which I 
itend to make, lie says that but one bill has passed into a 
law during the present Congress. I would ask this gentleman, 
why is this the case ? Why has not more business been done ? 
If he had asked himself these questions, he would probably 
have discovered the true origin of my remarks. I wish to 
speak with all due deference to the members of this house, 
when I say it is my desire, by reducing our wages, to make it 
our interest as well as our duty, to do the business of the 
country as it arises, and go home as soon as possible. I do not 
wish to be in a hurry — I do not wish to act without due delibe- 
ration ; and yet, I firmly believe that the public business might 
be better transacted than it is at present, in little more than 
half the period of our long sessions. I do not profess to be "an 
aged gentleman," but yet, upon this subject, I can speak in the 
language of experience, and am glad that there are many gen- 
tlemen around me who can correct me if I should fall in error. 
I would ask, what has been the course of legislation wiiich we 
have heretofore pursued ? What have we dune through the 
first half of every long session? I answer, comparatively 
nothing. The fact stated by the gentleman from North Caro 
lina in regard to the business which has been transacted during 
the present session, is substantially true of those that are past. 
But I do not complain of the waste of time alone. The ueces- 



93 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN-. 

sary consequence of tliis manner of proceeding is to force tlie 
whole business of the House near its close. Then we have so 
much to do, that we can do nothing well. There is neither 
time nor opportunity for investigation ; and measures are 
adopted the nature and character of which cannot be under- 
stood by the House." 

On the 4th of February in a debate upon the very same 
bill which drew forth the remarks just quoted, Mr. Buchanan 
went into a thorough and searching review of Mr. Adams' admi- 
nistration. The presidential election of 1828 was approaching, 
and General Jackson, who had been defeated in 1825, was the 
candidate of the democracy. The people had already become 
lired of Mr. Adams' management of affairs. When a resolution 
was introduced in the House to inquire into abuses which were 
said to exist, some of the friends of the President opposed it. 
How different from the course of Mr. Buchanan in a former 
Congress where the conduct of his friend, General Jackson, had 
been assailed I To those who thus proposed to stifle investi- 
gation, Mr. Buchanan indignantly replied : — " Against this po- 
sition I take leave to enter my solemn protest. Is it the 
Republican doctrine ? What, sir, are we told that we shall not 
inquire into the existence of abuses in this government, because 
such an inquiry might tend to make the government less 
popular ? This is new doctrme to me — doctrine that I have 
never heard before on this floor. Liberty, sir, is a precious gift, 
which can never long be enjoyed to any people, without the 
most watchful jealousy. It is Hesperian fruit, which the ever- 
wakeful jealousy of the people can alone preserve. The very pos- 
session of power has a strong — a natural tendency, to corrupt 
the heart. * * * jf the government has been administered 
upon correct principles, an intelligent people will do justice to 
their rulers ; if not they will take care that every abuse shall 
be corrected." 

In the same speech he made a reference to General Jackson, 






DREBS OF FOREIGN MINISTERS. 93 

which wil) show not only the early, but the devoted support he 
rendered to that listinguished democrat, to whom the people 
are indebted for the destruction of that gigantic monopoly, the 
United States Bank. Alluding to the taunt Mr. Clay cast 
upon General Jackson that he was simply " a military chief- 
tain," Mr. Buchanan remarked : — " I thank Heaven, that in 
these days, a 'military chieftain' has arisen whose name is 
familiar to the lips of even the humblest citizen of this country, 
because his services live in their hearts, who will be able, by the 
suffrages of the people, to wrest the power of this government 
from the hands of its present possessors. No one else could, at 
this time, have successfully opposed the immense patronage and 
power of the administration. * * * I trust and believe, that 
the people of the United States will elevate ' the citizen soldier' 
to the supreme magistracy of the Union. In that event, and after 
he shall have been tried by them, I venture to predict, that 
their award will entwine the civic wreath with the laurel crown, 
and that Jackson will live in the history of his country as the 
man of the present age, ' first in war, first in peace, and first in 
the hearts of his countrymen.'" It is unnecessary to remark how 
abundantly this prediction has been verified. 

Mr. Buchanan's love for genuine republican simplicity has 
always been something more than a mere name. Residing in a 
portion of the country which retains more of tlie simple, unos- 
tentatious habits of rural life than any other agricultural district 
of such wealth, it is not surprising that he should repudiate all 
those badges of distinction and inferiority, which are so con- 
trary of that spirit of equality which democracy inculcates. He 
held up to just derision and contempt the attiring of our for- 
eign ministers in a military coat covered with glittering gold 
lace, and decking them with a chapeau and small sword ! When 
it was called by some member of Congress " the livery of the 
American people," Mr. Buchanan remarked : — 

"I protest against this dress being called the livery of the 



94 LITE AND SERVICES OF JASIES BCCnANAN. 

American people : it is the livery of the last and the present 
admiuistration. No gentleman who valued his standing with 
the people of this country, would ever appear before them in ( 
such a garb. The people of the United States do not even 
know that such a dress has been prescribed for their ministers 
abroad. In many instances it must mal».e us appear ridiculous 
in the eyes of foreign nations. Imagine to yourself a grave and 
venerable statesman, who never attended a mihtia training in 
his life, but who has been elevated to the station of a foreign 
minister in consequence of his civil attainments, appearing at 
court arrayed in this militaiy coat, with a chapeau under his 
arm, and a small sword dangling at his side 1 Is not such a 
man compelled, by conformity to this regulation, to render him- 
self ridiculous? 'A military chieftain' who, in early life, had 
received his education at West Point, not the old citizen soldier 
who resides upon his farm, might sport a dress of this kind with 
some degree of grace ; but what a ridiculous spectacle would a 
grave lawyer, or judge, of sixty years of age, present, arrayed 
in such a costume 1 If the salary of our foreign ministers be 
not sufficient to enable them to exercise that liberal but plain 
hospitality which belongs to the character of their country, I 
say, again, let it be increased ; but let them never forget, 
in their dress or in their manners, the simple grandeur which 
belongs to the character of repnbhcans." 

It is but proper to say that Mr. Buchanan has since practised 
what he advocated upon this occasion ; and during his recent 
residence as minister at the court of St. James, among all the 
gewgaws and trappings of royalty, he appeared in the simple, 
unpretending garb of an American citizen ; thus upholding the 
simplicity of republican institutions, and forcibly rebuking the 
spirit of monarchy which decks one man with badges of supe- 
riority, and fastens upon another the symbols of degradation. 

During this session Mr. Buchanan reported an important rod 
much needed amendment to our naturaUzation laws, from (he 



NATCKALIZATION LAWS. 95 

Oadiciary Committee, of which he still continued a member. 
Under the law as it then stood, an alien could not be legally 
naturalized, unless he could produce a certiGcate that he had 
gone before a court and registered himself ; and this certificate 
Avas to be the evidence of the time of bis arrival in the United 
States. The law also required that this certificate of registry 
should be recited in the certificate of naturalization. It will 
thus be seen that according to this law, no matter how long a 
man had been in this country, or how irrefragably he could prove 
it, he could not be legally naturalized, if he had neglected to 
make the registry of his arrival. This neglect was very com- 
mon, on account of aliens upon their arrival here, not being 
acquainted with the law on the subject. The bill which Mr. 
Buchanan reported proposed to do away with this registry. 
There was also another section of the law which required every 
alien who arrived in this country after April 14th, 1802, to 
exhibit a certificate of the declaration of his intention to become 
a citizen, made two years before his application to be natu- 
ralized. 

" It was believed," Mr. B. said, "by the committee, "that if 
an alien could establish, by clear and indifferent testimony, thai 
he had arrived in this country previous to the late war (of 1812), 
and continued to reside in it ever since, this condition might, in 
such case, with propriety be dispensed- with. lie had reason to 
believe that there were many persons in the country, particu- 
larly Irishmen, who served as soldiers during the late war, who 
have hitherto neglected to make declaration of their intention 
to become citizens ; and we thought it right to provide for this 
class of cases, more especially as such persons must prove, by 
clear and indifferent testimony, that they have ever since resided 
in the United States." 

These amendments to our naturalization laws, so just and 
proper, were, by the exertions of Mr. Buchanan, adopted. 
Congress adjourned on the 26th of May, 1828, and met again 



96 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JA]MES BUCnANAN. 

on the 1st of December following. In the meantime the presi- 
dential election had taken place, and Gen. Jackson triumph- 
antly elected, according to the predictions of Mr. Buchanan. 
The principal topics of discussion before Congress were the occu- 
pation of the Oregon river, the Cumberland road, and an amend- 
ment to the Constitution introduced by Mr. Smyth, of Virginia, 
to the effect that no person who should have been once elected 
President of the United States shall be again eligible to that 
office. Mr. Buchanan opposed this upon true democratic 
grounds, which will at once commend themselves to the reason 
of every intelligent person. He said " he would incline to leave 
to the people of the United States, without incorporating it in 
the Constitution, to decide whether a President should serve 
more than one term. The day may come when dangers shall 
lower over us, and when we may have a President at the helm 
of state w^ho possesses the confidence of the country, and is bet- 
ter able to weather the storm than any other pilot ; shall we 
then, under such circumstances, deprive the people of the United 
States of the power of obtaining his services for a second term ? 
Shall we pass a decree, as fixed as fate, to bind the American 
people, and prevent them from ever re-electing such a man ? I 
am not afraid to trust them with this power." 

Mr. Buchanan delivered an elaborate speech upon the Cum- 
berland Road Bill, in which he discussed the subject of internal 
improvements by the general government, adhering strictly to 
the doctrine on this subject laid down in Mr. Monroe's celebra- 
ted message, to which reference has already been made. The 
proceedings of this session are not voluminous or important. 
They embrace a large number of private bills, but none of im- 
portant historical interest. The country was anxiously awaiting 
the commencement of Gen. Jackson's administration, which was 
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1829, the termination of the 
present Congress. 

This session of Congress was distinguished for the retirement 
from public life of that remarkable man, Nathaniel Macon, of 



KKTIKKMENT OF MK. MACON. 97 

North Carolina. Stern in his integrity, devoted to dnty, ready 
to accci)t any offioe, even to jus-tice of peace, within tlie gift of 
tiie people, but disdaining a seat in the Cabinet of Mr. JeflTerson, 
where it could only come as an appointment, he presented one 
of the most noted examples of that illustrious ])alriotism, and 
rigid self-denial which was a leading trait in the character of all 
ihe more eminent founders of our democratic institutions. IIo 
had fixed in his own mind for many years previous to his retire- 
ment, that he would do so when he arrived at the age of three 
score and ten, and he was equal to his determination. When 
remonstrated with by his friends and assured that he was still in 
the vigor of his intellect, which was the fact, he remarked 
'• that his mind was still good enough to tell him that he ought 
to quit office before his mind quit him, and that he did not mean 
to risk the fate of the Archbishop of Granada." Quietly and 
meekly ho left the Senate, retired to his home in North Caro- 
lina, and on the 29th of June, 1837, died, full of years and full 
of honors. Jefferson, in sj)eakiug of him, used to say that he 
was " the last of the Romans." 



98 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAX. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Election cf liec. iackson to the Presidency — The Impeachment of Judge Peck — Uk 
Buchanan's Celebrated Speech thereupon. 

The first session of Congress under the administration of Gen. 
Jackson assembled on the 1th of December, 1829. In the 
Senate were Samuel Bell and Levi Woodbury of New Hamp- 
shire, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, Theodore Freling- 
huysen and Mahlon Dickerson of New Jersey, John M. Clayton 
of Delaware, John Tyler of Virginia, Robert Y. Hayne of South 
Carolina, George M. Troup and John Forsyth of Georgia, 
Edward Livingston of Louisiana, William R. King of Alabama, 
and Thomas H. Benton of Missouri. In the House may be men- 
tioned among the prominent names those of Edward Everett of 
Massachusetts, Tristam Burgess of Rhode Island, C. C. Cambre- 
leng, Henry B. Cowles, Michael Hoffman, Ambrose Spencer, 
John W. Taylor, and Gulian C. Verplanck of New York, James 
Buchanan, Joseph Hempbill of Pennsylvania, P. P. Barbour, 
Charles F. Mercer and Andrew Stevenson of Virginia, George 
McDufQe of South Carohua, R. M. Johnson, R. P. Letcher, and 
C. A. Wickhffe of Kentucky, John Bell and James K. Polk of 
Tennessee, and C. C. Clay and Dixon H. Lewis of Alabama. 
Seldom in our history has the floor of either house of Congress 
shown a greater array of talent or more sterling integrity thau 
upon this occasion. A large number of the members were fresi 
from the people, and had been elected in that sweep of populai 
enthusiasm which had placed "the hero of New Orleans" in 
the presidential chair 



KLKCTION CV GEN. .TACKSON TO TUE I'RESIDF.XCT. 90 

Alul here it is proper to refer to Mr. P>iiclianan'.s part in tliaf, 
celebrated contest From the proiuinent jjosition he had taken 
as the friend of Gen. Jackson, he was the especial mark of the 
mali<rnit\ of liis enemies lie was assailed with all the bitter- 
ness whieii the most intense party sjtirit could invpke, but firm 
in his confidence in the ability of the distinguished man whom 
he supported for the hijj^hest office in the gift of a free people, 
he never wavered for a moment in hissu])port. Through all the 
storms of detraction and abuse which were poured upon him as 
no man had ever before been assailed in this 'Country, Mr 
Buchanan stood his firm, unwavering friend. The campaign of 
1828 was a memorable one in the annals of the democratic 
party, as well as in the politics of the entire country. The 
power and influence of the administration were opposed to the 
success of Gen. Jackson, and his friends were compelled to con 
tend with this and more than all with the systematic course of 
detraction that was pursued against their candidate. They 
triumphed, however, over every obstacle, and inaugurated the 
most glorious democratic administration since the days of Jef- 
ferson. M. de Tocqueville, about as wise as most European 
writers on our institutions, has said that Gen. Jackson was 
" raised to the Pre- idency and maintained there solely by the 
recollection of the victory of New Orleans !" This imputation 
upon the intelligence of the people in choosing their public ser- 
vants, of course could only come from a disbeliever in poj)uIar 
government, and probably it jiever was repeated by a single 
jicrson in our own country who was sincerely a believer in the 
capacity of the people for self-government. M. de Tocqueville 
has made another remark in regard to Gen. Jackson, which was, 
accidentally, true. He says, " the majority of the enlightened 
classes were always opposed to hlin ;" and he might have added, 
that those he calls " enlightened " have always opposed demo 
cracy. Imbibing their notions of government from Briti.-h 
writers, and contemning the doctrines of Jefferson, Madison and 
Jackson, it is no wonder they have no sympathy with the strong 



100 LEFE A2fD SEE^^CEb OF JAMES BUCHANAH'. 

hearts, earnest impulses and unperverted sentiments of the 
masses who grasp as if by instinct their leader. In the early 
and strong attachment whicb Mr. Buchanan exhibited for Gen. 
Jackson, we see this impulse of democracy called forth, in all 
its power : and the ratification it met from the suffrages of the 
people, gives it the stamp of unequlvocai genuineness 

Mr. Buchanan svas selected at this session for the important 
position of Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which had 
been held by Mr. Webster when he was a ijiember of the 
House. Mr. B. had for several sessions been a member of this 
Committee, and no mac in the House was probably better quali- 
fied for the place. There was too, at this time, one of the most 
Important matters before this Committee which can possibly 
fall to the consideration of a legislative body. It was no less 
than the impeachment of a judicial officer, James H Peck, 
Judge of the District Court of the United States for the District 
of Missouri. No matter may be considered of a more serious 
character, or one which requires a greater degree of prudence 
and discrimina*^ion, than the solemn duty of the impeachment of 
a judge. To Keep inviolate the dignity and authority of the 
judicial bench, and at the same time preserve a jealous regard 
for the rights of the citizen, embrace points of constitutional 
law of a most delicate and important character. Fortunately, 
instances where the Senate of the United States has been 
called upon to resolve itself into a High Court of Impeachment, 
and to exercise the constitutional functions thereby conferred 
upon it, have been exceedingly rare ; only three previous to this 
case have occurred in our history as a nation. But the very 
fact that these cases have been rare, is the reason that makes 
them more difiScult of adjudication. "We have few or no prece- 
dents to guide us, except those we find in English reports, 
which, under a republican form of goverment are, or at least 
ought to be, mostly inapplicable. Hence, such cases reqtiire 
some qualification in a prosecutor beyond the mere fact of 
being a lawyer. They call for a profound acquaintance not 



TUK IMI'KACIIMKNT OK .IL'OGK PKCK. 101 

only with the theory, but above all, with the spirit of our 
institutions. They need a mind git'led with sulljcient power (jf 
originality to break away from the musty traditions of English 
precedents, and, in conformity with the new spirit implanted 
by republican priuciples, judge of facts by the unerring stand- 
ard of rigid common sense, instead of following the decisions of 
the judicial sycoi)hauts of royalty. Are not men of the present 
day equally as able to judge of what is right or wrong as 
Scroggs and Jeffries, or even, with all due respect, " my Lord 
Chief Justice Mansfield?" At least so thought Mr. Bu- 
chanan in the arguraeni he dehvered in the Senate on that 
celebrated trial, and there is no mau in whose bosom there 
beats an American heart who will not thank iiim for the noble 
sentiments he then uttered before the assembled talent of the 
uation. 

The articles of impeachment against Judge Peck passed the 
House of Kepreseutatives at the first session of this, the twen- 
tieth Congress, but the trial did not take place before the 
Senate until the opening of the second session. The circum- 
stances which gave rise to this celebrated prosecution were 
briefly as follows. lu December, 1825, Judge Peck in the 
United States District Court of Missouri decided against the 
claims of the widow and children of one Antoine Soulard, to 
certain land within the State of Missouri and the then Territory 
of Arkansas. Luke E. Lawless, Esq., of St. Louis, had beea 
one of the counsel for prosecuting the claims before Judge 
Peck, and when the decision of the judge in regard to the mat- 
ter was published, Mr. Lawless wrote a brief article to one of 
the newspapers iu St. Louis, in which he enumerated the errors 
into which the judge had fallen. These were stated in res{)ect- 
ful language, and confined solely to a notice of the case in issue. 
Judge Peck chose to consider the communication of Mr. Law- 
less a contempt of court, and having summoned him before 
him, not only deprived him of his right to act iu his profession, 
but even went so far as to commit him to prison, for exercising 



102 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BLXnAXAX. 

the right every citizen enjoys of criticising the decisions of our 
courts. Mr. Lawless made complaint to the House of Eepre- 
sentatives. His memorial was referred to the Judiciary Com- 
mittee of which Mr. Buchanan was chairman. After a full and 
deliberate consideration of the case, the Committee unanimously 
reported articles of impeachment against Judge Peck, which 
were adopted by the House, and thereupon presented to the 
Senate, which resolved into a Court of Impeachment for the 
trial of the accused judge 

There w^ere five managei's chosen by ballot on the part of 
the House of Representatives to conduct the prosecution. 
They were James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, Henry R. Storrs 
of New York. George McDufSe of South Carolina, Ambrose 
Spencer of New York, and Charles Wiekliffe of Kentucky. 
Hon. William Wirt and Hon. Jonathan Meredith were the 
counsel of Judge Peck. The trial opened on the 13th of 
December. 1830, at noon. The Senators were arranged on 
two setfi of benches, covered with green cloth, to the right 
and left of the Vice President, the Hon. John C. Calhoun of 
South Carolina Judge Peck and his counsel, Mr. Wirt and Mr. 
Meredith, entered and were conducted to a table prepared for 
their convenience Soon after, the managers appointed on the 
part of tlie House of Representatives to conduct the impeach 
ment came in and took scats prepared for them. Mr. Buchanan, 
•who had been selected as chairman of the committee of man. 
agers, rose and stated that they were ready to proceed to trial 
After the transaction of some preliminary business, the Court 
adjc urned for one w^eek. On the following Monday, the case 
■was opened on the part of the prosecution, by Mr. McDufifie, in 
a speech of great learning, eloquence, and power. After the 
evidence of the prosecution had been submitted, Mr. Meredith 
opened for the defence in a learned and able argument, and 
upon the submission of the entire testimony, Mr. Storrs first, an 1 
Mr. WickliiFe afterwards, addressed the Court. Mr. Meredith 
opened his great speech for the defence on the 19th of January 



nis sPEnciT. 103 

nnd continued four days. Once in the course of his ai\a;u- 
mnit he sank from physical exhaustion. On tlic 24th, Mr. 
Wirt followed him in one of the happiest and most eloquent 
efforts of his life. Be occupied three days. The closing por- 
tion is still described by those who heard it as surpassingly beau- 
tiful. Wit, sarcasm, and impressive eloquence, as only a Wirt 
could use them, poured forth in streams, riveting the attention 
nnd eliciting the admiration of a crowded Senate chamber and 
galleries during the whole time he was speaking. 

Mr. Buchanan closed the case. He did not bring to his task, 
perhaps, the graceful oratory of Wirt, or even the impulsive, 
indignant eloquence of McDuffie, but he presented an argument 
which, for a review of the principles of constitutional and judi- 
cial law, it may be said without offence, was certainly superior 
to Mr. Wirt's speech, and fully equal to that of Mr. McDuCQe. 
Mr. Buchanan was at this time about forty years of age, and 
his mind had been thoroughly trained in debate on the floor of 
the Uousc, with such men as Mr. Clay, Mr. Calhoun, Mr. 
Lowndes, Mr. Randolph, Mr. Webster, and others equally 
eminent in forensic ability. After opening his speech with a 
few preliminary remarks explanatory of the general nature of 
the case, Mr. Buchanan said : 

" In the progress of this trial, we have made a loag excursion 
to England. We have had the principles of the English gov- 
ernment extensively discussed, and the court has been enter- 
tained with a minute account of the judicial history of that 
country, and what does it all prove towards the elucidation of 
this cause ? I should not have cared if the gentlemen had 
succeeded in establishing that the offence of scandalizing a 
court, whether a cause was pending or not, is punisha1)le in a 
summary manner in England. If it were so, what then ? Are 
we to look to the laws of England, or to the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, for the power of our judges ? At 
the revolution we separated ourselves from the mother country 



104: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

and we have established a repubhean form of government, 
securing to the citizens of this country other and greater per- 
sonal rights, than those enjoyed under the British monarchy. 
The gentlemen have been discussing the extent of personal 
rights in England ; but that is not the standard of the rights 
of the people of this country. When we arrive at the proper 
stage of the cause, I think I shall then show that the language 
of the Constitution of the United States upon this subject is so 
plain, that he who runs may read. Judge Peck had no occasion 
to go to England and consult the common law to discover pre- 
rogatives for the courts of this country ; all he had to do, to 
ascertain the limits of their legitimate power over contempts, 
was to read the seventh section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, 
and the Constitution of the United States. 

" In the further prosecution of this subject, I shall contend 
that under the Constitution and laws of the United States, the 
federal courts possess no power to punish in a summary manner, 
as contempts, publications reflecting on the court, whether in 
relation to a cause pending or one finally decided, and that in 
either case, such a power is equally at war both with the sphit 
and the letter of the Constitution. 

" And here I will take leave to observe, that any one who 
has attended to the course of this trial, might alone imagine it 
was the impeachment of an English judge before the House of 
Lords, and not that of an American judge before the Senate of 
the United States. We have scarcely heard of our own Consti- 
tution or our own laws. This may have been accident, or it 
may have been design. If it has been by design, it shall not 
succeed. The gentleman shall not keep us pursuing the judicial 
history of England for the last five hundred years, and thus 
place out of view our own constitutional guarantees for the per- 
sonal rights and personal liberty of our own citizens. 

" If the courts of the United States do possess this power, it 
must be derived either from the common law or from the 
inherent powers which necessarily belong to all courts of justice, 



UIS BrKECU, 105 

or from the Judiciary Act of 1789. If the power exists at all, 
it must come from one of these three sources. 

" As regards the common law, I think it is now conclusively 
settled by the adjudged cases, that the courts of the United 
States possess no criminal common law jurisdiction. If any 
question can be considered at rest, it is this. It is utterly 
astonishing to me, that such a claim of jurisdiction should ever 
have been asserted for the judiciary. The Constitution of the 
United States called into existence a new government. Under 
its provisions, Congress estabhshed new courts of justice. To 
the legislature it belonged to declare what ought or what 
ought not to be the law by which these courts should be 
governed. The attempt to transfer from England to the United 
States the whole criminal code of common law, without the 
sanction of Congress, was the most extraordinary that will be 
conceived. I have ever been a friend to courts, and in an 
especial manner a friend to the Supreme Court of the United 
States, and I trust I have shown it by my public conduct ; but 
if ever they should attempt to usurp the legislative power of 
declaring any act to be a crime in this country, merely because 
it is a crime by the common law of England, I do not know but 
I should be willing to bring the judges of that court themselves 
before this tribunal. The Congress of the United States have 
ever legislated upon the principles, that an act must be declared 
a crime by law before the courts can notice it as such. lu 1825, 
the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary in the House 
of Kepresentatives, who is now a distinguished member of this 
Court (Mr. Webster), reported a bill on the avowed prhiciplc 
that many actions manifestly of a criminal character had not 
been declared crimes l)y act of Congress, and it was ueces.^ary 
that this omission should be supplied, in order to give the courts 
of the United States the power of trying and punishing them. 
The bill thus reported was enacted into a law. This doctrine, 
which is clearly correct in reason and in principle, has been 
settled by the two adjudged cases, which have already been cited. 

5* 



lOG LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Indeed, so clearly and firmly is it established, that the late Mr, 
Justice Washington, in delivering a charge to the grand jury 
at Philadelphia in 1822, laid it down as settled, that the courts 
of the United States have net cognizance of offences at common 
law, unless it be conferred on them by the laws of the United 
States. 

" I shall now proceed to prove that the power claimed and 
exercised by the respondent is in direct violation of the letter 
and spirit of the Constitution. In order to demonstrate this 
proposition, it is only necessary to contrast the provisions of the 
Constitution with the proceedings of the judge against Mr. Law- 
less. The Constitution declares that " in all criminal prosecu- 
tions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public 
trial, by an impartial jury." What does this mean ? Does it 
aot extend to all criminal prosecutions ? and is it not established 
that the prosecution of a libel as a contempt is a criminal prose- 
cution ? In criminal prosecutions the rights of a citizen are 
never co be taken away, without a trial by an impartial jury. 
Impartiality is the attribute peculiarly required. But what 
does the law of contempts, as administered by Judge Peck, 
declare ? That the dearest rights of a citizen may be taken 
away, without any trial by jury, and by the sole authority of 
any angry, offended, and therefore partial judge. Need I add 
another word ? 

" Again, the Constitution provides that ' no person shall be 
held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, 
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, 
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces,' &c. In 
England, where the power of punishing libels against judges in 
contempts came to the King's Bench from the Star Chamber, 
a man may be prosecuted criminally upon a mere information 
filed by the crown. But the Constitution of the United States 
explodes this doctrine, except in cases arising in the land and 
naval service. In all other cases a grand jury must pass upon 



ni8 SPEECH. 107 

the accusca, before be can be brouglit to trial. So careful 
has the Constitution been of tlie liljcrty of the citizen, that it 
has blotted out forever tho proceeding by information ; although 
before any puuislinieiit can be inflicted, even by tliis mode, a 
petit jury must first have found the accused guilty. But wliat 
is the process in the case of contempts ? Without either an 
information or an indictment, but merely on a simple rule to 
show cause, drawn up in any form the judge may think proper, 
a man is put upon his trial for an infamous offence, involving 
iji its punishment the loss both of liberty and property. He is 
deprived both of petit jury and grand jury, and is tried by an 
angry adversary prepared to sacrifice him and his rights on the 
altar of his own vengeance. 

" Tlie Constitution declares, 'tliat no jierson shall be com- 
pelled, in any criminal case, to be witness against himself.' 
Now I ask, can the English language furnish plainer words 
than these ? Did not the respondent know, when he called 
upon Mr. Lawless to answer interrogatories upon oath, and on 
his refusal inflicted an additional j»unishmeut, that the Consti- 
tution protected him against any such inquisition ? If the Con- 
stitution does not apply to a case of this kind, in the name of 
Heaven when or where will it ai^ply ? By the common law of 
England, the refusal to answer interrogatories is itself ' a high 
and repeated contempt, to be punished at the discretion of the 
court :' and so thought Judge Feck ; but the Constitution inter- 
poses its protection, and secures the citizen being called upon 
to answer. Even the courtly Blackstone, the apologist rf every 
abuse under the British government, drclarcs ' that this method 
of making the defendant answer upon cath to a crimii:.^! charge 
is not agreeable to the genius of the common law in any other 
instance.' (4 Com. 287.) Now I verily btlieve that when the 
fraraers of that sacred instrument inserted in it the provision 
' that no person shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be 
witness against himself,' they had this very case of contempt 
full in then: view. The power which they have forbidden did, 



108 LIFE AND SEKTICES OF JA^IES BUCHANAN. 

in tMs case, exist in England ; but even there it ' is not agree- 
able to the genius of the common law in any other instance.' 
What case so proper could they have had in view when they 
inserted this clause ? They could never have intended that, not- 
withstanding the provision, unless the accused would himself 
humbly crouch at the foot of judicial power, and swear that he 
had no intention to give the slightest oflfence to the judge, he 
should be liable to be severely punished. Such a doctrine 
would be repugnant to every feeling of a freeman. 

"Even the miserable pretext w^hich existed for exercising 
this power in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, that the Constitu- 
tions of these respective States had sanctioned a pre-existing 
' law of the land,' which prostrated the barriers erected by these 
very Constitutions for the protection of civil liberty, has no 
existence here. No law of the land for the United States 
existed previous to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 
It declares that no man shall be compelled to bear witness 
against himself in a criminal charge ; and I put the question 
home to each member of this high and honorable court, whether 
the language must not be construed to extend to cases of this 
nature. Is there anything else to which the provision can apply ? 
This odious inquisition must certainly have been intended, as 
there is no other criminal accusation on which a man can, even 
by the common law, be required to bear witness against himself. 

" Let me here bring into the view of the Senate a fact on 
which I shall comment hereafter. The counsel has told us that 
at first Judge Peck only intended to suspend Mr. Lawless ; but 
in consequence of his refusal to have interrogatories filed, and 
answer questions upon oath, which might require him to bear 
witness against himself, and of his reading a paper to the court 
in the character of a protest or bill of exceptions, his punish- 
ment was aggravated by the disgrace of imprisonment. 

" Yes, sir, with this constitutional charter in his hand, the 
judge has branded Mr. Lawless with infamy (so far as his sen- 
tence of imprisonment could do so), for refusing to give evidenca 



HIS SPEECH. 109 

against himself. But I shall treat more fully of this point here- 
after. 

" The Constitution further provides that no person, for the 
same offence, shall be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. But 
the law of contempt, after a judge has first wreaked his own 
vengeance on the accused for the oflFence, considered as a con- 
tempt of court, the unhappy victim may afterwards l)e indicted 
for a libel, and thus again punished for the same offence. 

" The Constitution of the United States does not contain the 
provision, which is to be found in almost every State' Constitu- 
tion iu the Union, that, upon prosecution for a libel, the truth 
may be given in evidence. The reason of this omission doubt- 
less was, that as this instrument did not confer upon Congress 
any power to punish libels, there was no necessity for the intro- 
duction of such a clause. If the power exercised by the respon- * 
dent does not exist in the courts of the United States, I pre- 
sume no man will be hardy enough to contend that the truth of 
an accusation against a judge cannot be given in evidence iu a 
summary prosecution for a contempt. What a spectacle would 
then be.pre*euted on such a trial ! For example, I believe that 
a judge has in a certain cause decided absurdly (and such a 
thing we know may happen). I review his decision in one of 
the public journals, and prove that he has shown himself to be 
a weak man, and charge him with having been wicked and par- 
tial. If such be the fact, I have a right to establish it any- 
where, and the truth everywhere ought to protect me from puu- 
ishmeut. 

" I am called before this very judge, charged with a con- 
tempt of court, and the only issue to be tried by hun is, whether 
he himself is not weak or is not wicked, whether he has not 
made an absurd or a partial decision. What an examination 
would this be in a land of liberty 1 Could it ever have been 
intended to confer a power so absurd and so dangerous upon 
in American court of justice ? 

" I uow advance a little further in this argument (although 



110 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

it is astonishing to me that any argument on such a subject 
can be necessary). That sacred aegis — the liberty of the press 
— a right which Congress, if they would, could not, and if they 
' could,' dare not infringe — shields every citizen of this land 
from the blow of such judicial tyranny. No free government 
can long exist without a free press. Power is constantly steal- 
ing on. One imphcation involves another, until hberty may be 
lost before the people know it is in danger. To preserve this 
invaluable boon, it ought to be watched with greater jealousy 
than ever was excited by the fabled guardian of the Hesperian 
fruit. Its safest protector is a free press ; and the Constitution 
of the United States has therefore declared, that ' Congress 
shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the 
press.' What was the intention of this provision ? The 
framers of the Constitution well knew, that under the law of 
each of the States comprising this Union, libels were punish- 
able. They, therefore, left the character of the officers created 
under the Constitution and laws of the United States, to be 
protected by the laws of the several States. They were afraid to 
give this government any authority over the subject of libels, 
lest its colossal power might be wielded against the liberty 
of the press. They have guarded it with a wholesome and 
commendable jealousy. 

" In open violation of this provision, the sedition law was 
passed in 1198. This law, after having destroyed its authors, 
expired in March, 1801, by its own limitation. The gentleman 
who first addressed the Court in behalf of the respondent, has 
mistaken the argument of the managers in relation to this law. 
None of us contend that it was cruel and unjust in its pro- 
visions. It was more equitable than the common law, because 
in all cases it made an indictment necessary, and it permitted 
the truth to be given in evidence. The popular odium which 
attended this law was not excited by its particular provisions, 
but by the fact that any la'^ upon the subject was a violation 
.»f the Constitution. Congress had no power to pass any law 



niS SPKI'XH. ' 111 

of the kind, good or bad. It is now, I believe, freely admitted 
by' every person (I, at least, have not for several years con- 
versed with any man who held a contrary opinion), that Con- 
gress, in passiiij;- this act, had transcended tiieir powers. I 
have no doubt that the motives of many of those who passed it 
were perfectly pure ; but yet, if any principle has been estab- 
lished beyond a doubt, by the almost unanimous opinion of the 
people of the United States, it is, that tlie sedition law was 
unconstitutional. Such is the strong and universal feeling upon 
this subject, that if any attempt were now made to revive it, 
the authors would probably meet a similar fate with those 
deluded and desperate men in another country, who have 
themselves fallen victims upon the same altar on which they 
had determined to sacrifice the liberty of tlie press. 

" Well, sir, and what then ? It is contended by the respon- 
dent that although Congress could not bestow upon the courts 
of the United States the power of trying and punishing libels, 
yet that by implication he may exercise this authority and 
dominion over all men who may dare to discuss his pretensions 
in the public newspapers. That power which the legislature 
who created him could not confer upon him by express grant, 
he exercises by implication. 

" Shall then a petty judge, a petty provincial judge (if it be 
lawful to use such language, after the rebuke my colleague 
received) — although Congress itself dare not pass a law for the 
punishment of Hbellers against its own members, or the Presi- 
dent of the United States — be permitted to sit as the sole judge 
in his own cause, and in palpable violation of the Constitution, 
fine and imprison, at his own pleasure, the author of a libel 
against himself? When the express power cannot be delegated, 
shall he take it by implication ? Shall courts of justice exercise 
a power as a bare incident, vastly beyoud what their creators 
could confer upon them ? 

" If all courts do possess this authority, it may be wielded 
jr'iih. vast power as an engine for the destruction of our liberties 



112 'LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

We have always had in this country, and I suppose we shall 
always continue to have, angry political discussions. It would 
seem' that such storms are necessary to purify the political 
atmosphere of the Republic (though they are sometimes much 
more violent than agreeable). Let me illustrate my views by 
putting a case in reference to the so much agitated question of 
our relations with the Southern Indians. This question has 
awakened intense feeling throughout the Union, and I doubt 
not has given birth to much honest difference of opinion. Some 
believe the President to be right in his views upon the subject, 
and others that he is entirely wrong. It would not become me 
here to express any opinion. But suppose the President of the 
United States were to institute suits against some one of the 
editors who have attacked his character and assailed his mo- 
tives in relation to his conduct on the Indian question, what 
might be the consequence ? The question then to be settled by 
such a suit would be, are these attacks true or false ? Now 
you could not take up a paper in the District of Columbia which 
would not contain one or more articles discussing the general 
question, and having a direct bearing upon the public mind in 
relation to the cause pending. These publications upon the 
principles on which Judge Peck acted would all be contempts 
of court. You might as well attempt to stop the flowing tide, 
lest it might overwhelm the temporary hut of the fisherman 
upon the shore, as to arrest the march of public opinion in this 
country, because in its course it might incidentally affect the 
merits of a cause depending between individuals. 

" Sir, is this a fancy picture ? When a man so distinguished 
as to be a prominent candidate before the people of the United 
States for the highest office in the country, undertakes to redress 
his wrongs by an action for a libel, he attaches to himself the 
whole politics of the country, and thus all the publico tions in 
the papers of the United States on the subject out of which the 
suit arose are converted into contempts against the court in 
TFhich it is pending. 



HIS 6PEF.cn. 113 

" I know Foractliing about a governor's election iu New York 
aud Teunsjlvania. The lil)erty of the press is on such occa- 
sions carried to its utmost limits. Charges are very freely made 
and very freely urged agaiust the oj)posing candidates ; aud all 
the people of the State are deeply interested in knowing their 
truth or falsehood. The candidate who fears the public dis- 
cussion of any charge made against him, has nothing to do but 
bring a suit, and then, according to the doctrine of contempts 
now asserted, all future publications upon that subject become 
contempts of court, and may be punished with severity by the 
judges before whom the action is depending. The current of 
public opinion must be stopped ; the merits or demerits of the 
candidate must not be discussed ; there must be an awful pause 
to await the event of a little libel cause in an inferior court. 
Such a doctrine cannot exist in this country. Carry it out to 
its practicable consequences, and it becomes appalling. By a 
politic application of it, every judge in the land may become the 
tool of executive power, or the instrument of preventing all 
attacks against his political favorites who may be candidates 
for office. These are not mere fanciful cases. They may occur 
in practice ; and if the power should be sanctioned and estab- 
lished by the decision of this court, the day may arrive when it 
will be resorted to for the most dangerous purposes. The time 
may come when it shall be considered very necessary and proper 
to shield some future President from pubUc discussion by the 
exercise of this power. 

" Why, sir, at this very time, from one end of the Union to 
the other, we find the public papers of a particular complexion 
ringing with attacks on the character and conduct of the Chief 
Justice of the United States, in relation to the Indian question 
now pending before the Supreme Court. I think these attacks 
are unjust ; but to check them, would you silence the public 
press ? Would you say that the Supreme Court ought to di'ag 
before it every editor m the country, and thus put an end to 
the discussion ? I know that even if the court possessed tMa 



114: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

power, it would never be invoked by the present Chief Justice — • 
a man upon whom any eulogy of mine would be lost. But if 
he resembled a Scroggs or a Jefferies (and such men may yet 
hold that office), he would never rest content until he had 
inflicted vengeance, through the agency of this power, upon 
those who dared to attack his judicial character. 

" I have been considering the consequences of this power in 
regard to cases pending ; but it would be infinitely worse in its 
application to cases which have been decided. The Supreme 
Court of the United States is vested with power in the last 
resort, to construe the Constitution ; constitutional questions 
are brought before it almost every term, involving great and 
extensive interests, and in some cases the rights of sovereign 
States. Its jurisdiction is co-extensive with the Union, and 
from the very nature of things, its decisions must agitate and 
inflame large masses of the people of this country. Judgment 
is pronounced, and the reasons for it go forth to the world in 
the form of an opinion. Is not this opinion as fau" a subject 
of criticism as any other public paper ? And will not, and ought 
not such opinions to be freely criticised as long as liberty shall 
endure in this country ? And yet upon the principles which 
governed the respondent's conduct, the Supreme Court possess 
tlie power to bring all the editors throughout the Union before 
them, who have dared to impute errors to their opinions, and 
punish them by fine and imprisonment at their pleasure. The 
bare attempt to exercise such a power would convulse the people 
of this country. 

" I recollect a case in my own State, which may serve to 
illustrate the absurdity of this claim of power. The Chief 
Justice of Pennsylvania delivered an opinion that the Supreme 
Cuurt of that State had no right to declare a State law- 
unconstitutional. A United States judge took up this opinion, 
and in one of the periodicals of the day handled it very severely ; 
more so, beyond all comparison, than Mr. Lawless criticised 
the opinion of Judge Peck. If such a power had existed, here 



nis srEF.cH. 115 

vns a case for its exercise. TIic Supreme Court niifj:lit have 
brouglit the District Judge of the United States belure them 
oil ail attachment, and sentenced him to fine and imprisonment 
for scanihiUzing the Cliicf Justice, and endeavoring to bring liim 
into odium and disgrace before the peoi)ic. 

" If a judge be corrupt or partial in his judicial conduct, or 
should chance to be a fool, (a case which sometimes happens) it 
is not only the right, but the boundcn duty of his fellow-citizens 
to expose his errors. If a man should be notoriously incompe- 
tent for the judicial station which he occupies, though this may 
be no ground for an impeachment, yet it is a state of things on 
which the force of public opinion may rightfully be exerted, for 
the purpose of driving him from the bench. I admit that the 
case ought to be an extreme one to justify such a resort. But 
then, if this power to punish libels does exist, a judge may de- 
cide as he pleases without regard either to honesty or law ; and 
then silence the public press iu relation to his conduct, by de- 
nouncing fine and imprisonment against all those who shall 
dare to expose the errors of his opinion. In such a case, upon 
the hearing i)efore the judge, the greater the truth, the greater 
would Ijc the hbel. A weak judge, when his capacity is called 
in ([uestion, would always be the most cruel and oppressive. 

" As 1 have already referred to the Supreme Court of the 
United States, let me do it again. That illustrious tribunal, in 
the honest and fearless discharge of its duties, has come into 
collision with many of the States of this Union — with Pennsyl- 
vania, with Virginia, with Georgia, with Massachusetts, with 
New York, and with Kentucky. It has been abused and vili- 
fied from one end of the continent to the other. This has beeu 
its history since the foundation of the federal government. 
Has any man ever heard that the judges of this court claimed 
the power of punishing these revilers iu a summary manner by 
fine and imprisonment ? Have we, at any period of its history, 
beard the slightest iutimatiou to that effect from any of these 
men ? Not one. That court has often been in the storm. It 



116 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAIsAN. 

has been assailed by the minds and waves of popular opinion ; 
but it has gone on in an honest and fearless course, and trusted 
for a safe deliverance to the good sense and patriotism of the 
American people. That tribunal needs no such power as has 
been claimed by this judge in Missouri, and has never thought 
of resorting to the arbitrary and vindictive conduct, which has 
brought him to your bar. 

" I trust I have now succeeded in proving, that the courts 
of the United States can neither derive this power from the 
common law, nor from the Judiciary Act of 1789, nor from ne- 
cessity ; and that its exercise is in direct violation of the Con- 
stitution of the United States. Another question now presents 
itself, on which it may be proper to make some adchtional 
remarks. 

Had Judge Peck power in this case to suspend Mr. Lawless 
from practising his profession ? It is of importance to us who 
belong to the bar to know whether or not — and to have the 
decision of this court upon the question. If he had, the mem- 
bers of a profession which has ever stood foremost in this 
country, in the defence of civil liberty, are themselves the 
veriest slaves in existence. I believe that I have as good a 
right to the exercise of my profession, as the mechanic has to 
follow his trade, or the merchant to engage in the pursuits of 
commerce. I want then to know whether henceforward I must 
humble myself and become the sycophant of a judge, whom I 
may despise, under the penalty of being deprived of the right 
to practise my profession before him. If a judge be weak, or 
if he be wicked, his judicial conduct is as fair a subject of dis- 
cussion among lawyers, as among any other class of citizens ; 
and for exercising this right they incur no punishment, which 
cannot be inflicted on any other person. If this proposition be 
not true, they become the mere creatures of the court. Instead 
of being the firm and fearless asserters of their clients' rights, 
often in opposition to the preconceived opinions of the bench, 
thej must cringe and assent to any and every intimation of the 



nrs SPEECH. 117 

juflge at the risk of their ruin. The public have ahiiost as 
deep an interest in the independence of the bar as of the bench. 
The rights of tlie citizens, under the complete systems of modern 
times, can only be asserted and maintained througli the agency 
of the profession. 

" Members of the profession may forfeit their right to prac- 
tise, but this can only be done by the commission of some 
professional oflcnce, or some crime flf so black a ^.haracter as 
Bhows them to be wholly unworthy to be trusted. For other 
offences they are subjected to the same punishments as their 
fellow citizens. Their official and their private acts are entire- 
ly distinct from each other. To show that Judge Peck has no 
right to suspend Mr. Lawless, I need not go further than 2d 
Petersdorff's Abridgment, G15, the book cited by the judge 
himself. It proves conclusively that the high prerogative of 
striking an attorney from the rolls has never been exercised, 
even in England, except for grossly dishonest professional mis- 
behavior, or on a conviction of felony or other infamous crimes. 
This power has never been resorted to, except in extreme 
?ases. I admit, that if in this country, where the two profession? 
of attorney and counsellor are generally united in the same 
person, an attorney, in open court, will manifest by his conduct 
i total want of respect for the judges, and will pursue a course 
tending to obstruct the public business before the court, they 
must from necessity, possess the power of suspending him from 
practice. But it is not pretended, that Mr. Lawless has brought 
himself within this rule. Was it ever heard of in England, that 
an attorney was stricken from the rolls of the court for writing 
and publishing strictures, no matter how severe, upon the 
opinion of a judge ? The research of the learned gentleraau 
has not furnished us with a single case from the English book, 
nor a single dictum to that effect. If I write and jmbli.-h ao 
article which a judge may choose to consider as a libel upor? 
himself, is it not enough that he may appeal like other citize s 
to the laws of his country for redress, and have me Gncd aud 



118 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAJ^AN. 

imprisoned for the offence ? Shall he be permitted to take the 
law into his own hands, and add to this punishment a forfeiture 
of my means of subsistence, by taking away from me my pro- 
fession ? Even the punishment of a libel as a contempt, by 
fine and imprisonment, w^ould be mercy when compared with 
this power. 

" The judge, in the'-same rule a,2:ainst Mr. Lawless, has em- 
braced two things of an* entirely different character. No two 
subjects can be more distinct, in their nature, than a rule to 
show cause why an attachment should not issue for a contempt, 
and a rule against an attorney to show cause why he should not 
be stricken from the rolls. In the first case, the court must 
proceed without delay. Its progress, or its lawful command 
must be obeyed immediately, otherwise the progress of public 
business is arrested. If the order of the court be obeyed, either 
there is no punishment at all inflicted, or it is generally very 
slight. The suspension of an attorney from practice is of 
another character. The question, then, to be decided is, has 
his conduct been of such a character, as to require his expul- 
sion from the bar ? This is a question which need not be 
determined in a day or in a month. The spirit which dictated ; 
that provision of the common law, that the tools of an artificer 
shall not be distrained, ought to prevail upon such an occasion. 
When a man's all is at stake, or rather the means by which his 
all is acquired, there ought to be no haste in the proceeding, 
when no haste is necessary. But here this infuriated judge 
had decided, from the very first moment, that Mr. Lawless 
should be suspended ; and it has been alleged that it was not 
till after his refusal to answer interrogatories that he determined 
to add the ignominious punishment of imprisonment. 

****** 

" I come now to the vital and essential part of this cause, 
and I do contend, that if there were no evidence before the 
Senate but the opinion of the court, the article signed 'A 
Citizen,' and the fact of its author's imprisonment and suspen* 



HIS 6PKECH. 11! 

sio'.i, these would be suflicieiit grounds to pronounce the res 
poudeut guilty. If he had the heart to proceed coolly aud 
deliberately, without passion, and to cloak his malice under a 
fair and kind exterior, I should not believe him to be the better 
man, for being able so well to play the hypocrite. But tho 
facts of this case leave nothing for conjecture. They speak in 
a language which canuot be misunderstood. It will uow be 
my endeavor to present them before this Court in a distinct and 
perspicuous manner, acconling to the order in wliich they oc- 
curred. , 

On Monday, the 11th of April, 1826, Judge Peck issued a 
rule against Stephen W. Foreman, tho editor and publisher of 
the ' Missouri Advocate, and, St. Louis Inquirer,' commanding 
him to appear on the next morning, and show cause why an 
attachment should not issue agaiust him for a contempt of 
court. The language of this rule is unmistakable, and discloses 
the source of the whole proceeding. In it the judge declares 
himself to be satisfied that the article signed * A Citizen," con- 
tained ' a false statement ' of a judicial decision delivered by 
him in the case of Sowlard against the United States. lie was 
not only satisfied in the first instance of the falsity of the state- 
ment, but that it tended ' to bring odium on the court, and to 
impair the confidence of the public in the purity of its decisions.' 

" In the circumstances in which the judge was placed after 
he had determined to proceed, what ought to have been his 
course ? lie ought to have expressed no opinion, but merely 
called the editor before him on a general rule to show cause 
why he should not be attached for the publication. But before 
Mr. Foreman came before the court, or one word had been 
uttered in his defence, nay, before the issuing of the rule against 
him, the respondent had prejudged the cause. lie had deter- 
mined the publication to be 'a false statement, tending to 
bring odium upon the court, and to impair the confidence of tiie 
public in the purity of its decisions,' and this prejudication he 
grafted into the rule. ****** 



120 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

"A rule is made upon Mr. Lawless to appear forthwilh. 
That wliich was bad enough in the first rule now becomes 
much worse. ' The false statement' in it is now magnified into 
'false and malicious statements.' The tendency of the article 
is not now merely stated as in the first rule, but the author 
himself is charged with an ' intent by its publication,' to im- 
pair the public confidence in the upright intentions of the said 
court, and to bring odium upon the court, and especially with 
intent to impress the public mind, and particularly many liti- 
gants in this com-t, that they are not to expect justice in the 
causes now pending therein, and with intent further to awaken 
hostile and angry feehngs ou the part of the said litigants 
against the said court, in contempt of the said court.' The 
conclusion of this rule is a still greater outrage. It calls upon 
Mr. Lawless ' forthwith ' to * show cause why he should not be 
suspended from practising in this court, as an attorney and 
counsellor therein, for the said contempt and evil intent.' 
Without one moment's delay he is called upon to answer, why 
he shall not be deprived of the exercise of that profession on 
which he and his family depended for existence. It is not 
merely why he should not be fined and imprisoned for a con- 
tempt, but this mild, placid, dovelike judge, as he has been 
represented, dictates also a rule against Mr. Lawless, to show 
cause forthwith why in effect his wife and children should not 
be made beggars. 

" What I Is there any precedent of a proceeding like this ? 
Had the judge but taken time to refer to 2 Petersdorff's 
Abridgement, the book which he has cited here, he would have 
found that a rule upon an attorney to show cause why he 
shall not be stricken from the roll, is a very different matter 
from an attachment. But his vengeance could not tarry, lie 
was eager to inflict the double punishment of consigning Mr. 
Lawless to disgrace, by sending him to the common prison, and 
depriving him of the power of practising his profession so long 
as this land court should endure •, and yet we have been talk- 



Ills sPEiicn. 121 

about the quo aniuio of this transaction, and whether tlie 
whole might not have proceeded from a pure and i.lisinterested, 
if not from a benevolent, motive. A picture has been presented 
to us of a man filled with the very milk of human kindness, 
with a lieart pure, tender, and guileless as a child of three 
years old, and whose whole conduct has been so correct as to 
win for him the warm friendship of the counsel who last 
addressed you on behalf of the respondent. Of Mr, Lawless 
I will here take occasion to say what I believe to be strictly 
just ; I profess no friendship for him, for my friendships are 
not quite so sudden ; but from what 1 have seen of him (which 
has not been very much), he has exhibited the model of an 
Irish gentleman. That he has failings, I have no doubt ; I 
believe he has, but they proceed from the ardor and intensity 
of his feelings — feelings which belong to the brave and gallant 
nation from which he springs. lie may be hasty and impetu- 
ous, but a braver or a warmer heart beats not in human bosom. 
I admire and respect him, and am so much his friend, that I 
wish to see him have justice, and so fur as God shall give me 
ability, every effort of my mind shall be directed to the attain- 
ment of that object, 

" On the 26th May, 1824, the act passed, enabling the Dis- 
trict Court of the United States for the State of Missouri, to 
try the validity of those Spanish land claims. It required all 
claims to be presented to the court within two years. Any 
claim thus presented and not decided within three years after 
the passage of the act ' on account of the neglect or delay of 
the claimant,' was forever barred. The claims were to be filed 
before the 26th May, 1S2G, and to be decided before 26th 
May, 182T. To su.':i)end Mr. Lawless for eighteen months, 
from 21st April, 1826, was to banish him forever from that 
court, if the law had not been afterwards extended. 

" Some evidence has been given, but for what purpose I can- 
not conceive, unless to mortify the feelings of Mr. Lawless, that 
he had but little business in the court, excepting that arising 

G 



122 LIFE AND SHKTICES OF JAMES BUCHANAJT. 

from the land claims. Be it so. He had devoted the whole 
energy of his mind to the investigation of the Spanish laws 
and customs, and of the treaties relating to these land titles. 
He naturally became concerned for most of the claimants, and 
interested in their claims. They were that on which he rested 
his hopes of fortune Under this circumstance this judge 
called upon him to show cause forthwith why he should not be 
deprived of the opportunity of prosecuting any of these claims, 
and thus in fact lose nearly all his practice. Most truly may 
he be said to have been foredoomed. But we are told that the 
judge did grant him a delay until the afternoon. This is most 
true. He actually extended the rule for half a day, to enable 
him to attend to some urgent business in another court. 

" After all these indications of the judge's feelings, what 
could we expect from the trial itself ? Could it have been any- 
thing but what it was, an outrage on the Constitution and 
laws of the country ? It was then high time for Mr. Lawless 
to take his stand. He then resolved upon his course, and to 
that resolution he stood firm and steadfast. As an American 
citizen, I rejoice at the determination which he exhibited. 
After his argument in behalf of the printer had been overruled 
with contumely, after he had been publicly insulted, and hi? 
character traduced, he acted as a man ought to have acted. 
Hitherto I have yielded, but henceforward I move not a step. 
I put it to each member of this court, whether it was not such 
a determination as he himself would have made ? Mr. Lawless 
felt as he ought to have felt. He then gave instructions to 
his counsel to make no apology. The time for apology was 
over. When arguing the question for the printer before the 
judge, who then well knew that the article was WTitten by 
Mr. Lawless, he repeatedly declared that the author had no in- 
tention to offend the court. These declarations were all made 
in vain ; and the judge had exhibited such a spirit, that when 
he was called upon to answer in his own person, he felt it to 
be his duty to stand upon his rights as a man and as a citizen. 



nis SPEECH. 123 

" The trial commenced on Thursday afternoon, and bow ? Mr. 
Magenis took up the article and attempted to prove that it con- 
tained no misrepresentation of the opinion. The judge immedi- 
ately cried out, ' Stop, sir, that question has been already fully 
argued, and decided ou the rule against the printer. I shall hear 
nothing further upon that point.' But had it been fully argued ? 
Ho. Mr. Lawless had indeed attempted to argue it, but he had 
beer interrupted and insulted at every step, until he became 
embarrassed, and sat down in despair before his argument was 
completed. And how had the question been decided ? It is 
true the argument had been immediately overruled, but no 
opinion was given. Besides, this was on the rule against Mr, 
Foreman. Was not the- rule against Foreman distinct from 
the rule against Lawless ? Was it the same cause ? Foreman 
had purged himself of the contempt and been discharged. Mr. 
Lawless was now the accused. Here was a new rule against a 
new man, the old one having been dismissed. Upon this new 
charge, Mr. Lawless had a constitutional right to be heard by 
counsel. Yet this judge determined that his opinion should 
remain a mystery — that it should not be analyzed and exposed 
to vulgar gaze. He stopped Mr. Magenis, and would not 
allow him to utter one word for his friend upon that point, 
which was all important for his defence against the prosecu- 
tion. Has any case ever occurred in the United States, where, 
upon the trial of a criminal offence, such a high-handed course 
was attempted ? 

" But why should the judge have considered one question as 
open and the other not so ? The counsel were not prohibited 
from arguing the question of jurisdiction. They were allowed 
to show that the proceedings of the court were uulaw-^'ul and 
violated the Constitution, though these topics had bcch dis- 
cussed on the former rule both by Mr. Lawless and Mr. Gcycr. 
These were still held to be open points ; but when the opinion, 
the sacred opinion was approached, the judge cries out, ' For- 
bear I You must not touch this monumentum ajre perennius. 



124 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN'. 

You may argue as long as you think proper to show that I am 
tramphng upon the Constitution, and violating the dearest 
rights of an American citizen — that point is still open — but 
the opinion — do not venture to discuss it ; that door is forever 
closed.' 

"Mr. Magenis and Mr. Geyer now argued the same ques- 
tions, which the latter had argued on the rule against the 
printer, Mr. Geyer came better prepared to press his points 
than he had been before, and Judge Wash tells us his argu- 
ment was methodically logical and well digested. Colonel 
Strather then rose and began to violate his instructions by 
making an apology for the article. He was stopped and 
privately requested to take his seat. One of the counsel (Mr. 
Meredith) asked Mr. Geyer ' what ground of argument was 
Colonel Strather taking when you interrupted hun V The 
answer was, ' He was taking none, as I thought. I considered 
hhn as making rather an apology than an argument. It was 
on that account that he was interrupted.' I shall never forget 
the air and the manner with which Mr. Geyer declared in the 
conclusion of his testimony that he thought it not a case for 
apology. 

" Whether there was now a short recess of the court is 
uncertain. On this point the evidence is contradictory. 

" A spectacle was afterwards presented, such as 1 trust will 
never again be witnessed in any part of these United States. 
The judge took off his goggles and bound up his eyes. God 
knows I do not attribute this weakness of his eyesight to him 
as a fault. I am sorry for his misfortune. But such was the 
fact. He sat upon the bench blindfold. Mr. Bates, the District 
Attorney, was then called upon to read the article of Mr. Law- 
less, paragraph by paragraph, and on each as it was read the 
judge commented. And such comments 1 And that too from 
a court of justice ! Such was the impression made on the 
bystanders, that one of the witnesses tells us, that among the 
multitude which thronged the court, he did not hear a single 



nis sPKECir. 12& 

man say tl)C judge was doiug riglit. Mr. Lawless, meanwhile, 
sat silent and submissive, lie uttered not a word, lie only 
showed by the flush upon his countenauce the indignant feel- 
ings which were struggling in his heart. He remained until he 
could endure it no longer. But before he left the court-house, 
he consulted witli his counsel, whether his withdrawal could be 
construed into a contempt. Wliat was the answer ? Either 
that he was not obliged to remain there and hear himself 
abused, or listen to such a torrent of abuse. It is stated in both 
ways by witnesses. 

" As the judge proceeded he became more violent. Judge 
Wash, his leading witness, admits that he ' spoke in strong 
terms of tlie publication.' lie used the words ' false ' and 
' malicious.' He frequently used expressions of this kind, ' that 
is wholly unfounded,' ' this is clearly false and without founda- 
tion, except in the malice of the author ;' and he says thai 
remarks like these occurred throughout the whole course of the 
analysis of the publication. They were not merely occasiona' 
bursts of passion, but it was a steady current of malicious and 
abusive language. The epithets used were very various. The 
words ' false,' ' scandalous,' ' liliellous,' ' unfounded,' ' slander- 
ous,' ' calumniator,' were all used over and over again in the 
course of this harangue, which lasted for about two hours. We 
may form some faint idea of what must have been its tenor and 
spirit, from the expression used by the judge in his answer to 
the article of impeachment. The terms embodied in that 
document have left a lasting monument to posterity of the 
temper and feeling under which this American judge must have 
acted. 

' The Kcv. Mr. Ilorrall, a gentleman who was merely passing 
by accident and had never been in the court before, and whose 
high character places him above all suspicion, says, that the 
judge appeared to be under vehement excitement. lie used 
the words ' slanderer,' ' falsehood,' and ' misrepresentation,' and 
the witness thought be intended to apply these epithets to tha 



126 LIFE Aim SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

author of the publication. But wliy need I enumerate all the 
witnesses who have given testimony of a similar character ? As 
if to cap the climax of abuse, the judge declared that sucli a 
calumniator as the author of the article, had he lived in China, 
would have had his house blackened, as an emblem of the black- 
ness of his heart. Even Judge Pecli himself could go no fur- 
ther. A large majority of the witnesses state the expression in 
this or a similar manner. Two or three of them, however, say 
that the terms used were not directly and personally applied to 
Mr. Lawless, but they were used by the judge as an illustra- 
tion of his ai'gument. In every material part of their testimony, 
however, there is no disagreement. Whether the one or the 
other version be the truth, there can be no doubt but that it 
was the judge's intention the audience should point to Mr. 
Lawless as the black-hearted calumniator whom he had 
described. Now I ask one and all of the members of this 
court, whether, in the course of their experience, they have ever 
known a man convicted, even of murder, and brought before the 
court for his final sentence, to receive anything like such a cruel 
and inhuman taunt, as that the very house in which he lived 
ought to be painted black, as an emblem of the blackness of his 
heart. 

" I may be 'OTong in another particular. I have inquired of 
many learned men whether they had ever heard or read of such 
a custom in China as that to which the judge has adverted, 
and the answer of them all has been in the negative. I may be 
displaying my own ignorance, but I have certainly never met 
with anything of the kind. The gentlemen on the other side 
have referred us to no book asserting the existence of such a 
custom. Still I might not be warranted in applying to Ju:lge 
Peck the language which he use to Mr. Lawless, and pronounc- 
ing this Chinese custom to be without any foundation, except m 
his own malice. 

" When the dearest rights of an American citizen are at 
Btake, I will not stoop to answer such obbervations as have 



HIS sPKEcn. 127 

been made hy one of the gentlemen on this part of tlie case. 
AVhat, sir, when this court is solemnly cn.!j;aged in investigating 
an outrage committed against the liberties of this country, shall 
we suffer our attention to bo led away to a farcical scene in a 
play of Kotzcbue ? Do gentlemen believe they can laugh out 
of court a fact, wliich every man who has a heart must feel to 
have been the extremcst aggravation of insult and cruelty? Sir, 
under such eircurastauces, wit is out of place ; and if, feeUng 
strongly and as I think justly, I did often repeat the same ques- 
tion to tlie different witnesses, I did not expect to be treated 
with a sneer." 

Mr. Wirt. — " The remark to which the gentleman seems to 
allude, was, I can assure him, perfectly sportive in its charac- 
ter, and that nothing like a sneer on the gentleman was thought 
of or intended." 

" If so, I retract the remarks to which it gave rise. 

" It is scarcely necessary to waste a word upon the question 
whether Judge Peck was in a passion whilst he was delivering 
this opinion against Mr. Lawless. All the circumstances of the 
case prove that he must have been. The mass of the testimony 
establishes the fact that he was vehement and excited to a 
degree beyond what the witnesses had ever seen him. Both 
Mr. Geyer and Judge Wash declare that they had Dcver 
observed the judge's manner to be so impassioned as on this 
occasion. Whether he was in a passion or not is wholly imma- 
terial ; but were it otherwise, the fact has been clctyly estal> 
lished. His passion is some little extenuation of his guilt. Had 
done what he did coolly and deliberately, the evidence of his 
malignity would have presented a still darker hue. 

" I have now come to the last scene, an attachment Issued 
against Mr. Lawless. He was brought into court in custody of 
the marshal. The judge then, with a good deal of formality 
(to use the language of Judge Wash), asked him if he wished to 
have interrogatories exhibited, and whether he would answer 
them if they were exhibited ? To which he replied that ho did 



128 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

not require any interrogatories to be propounded, and if they 
were he would not answer them. 

" Now, sir, after the judge liad occupied about two hours in 
proving that the article of Mr. Lawless was false, scandalous 
and malicious— that it had no foundation except in his own 
malice — and that its character was so infamous that e^^en in 
China the man who could write it would liave his nouse 
painted black to denote the blackness of his heart, and to warn 
the public against him ; after he liad thus held Mr. Lawless up 
before the assembled multitude, he asks hiiu whether he will 
not answer interrogatories, and purge himself upon oath of the 
contempt. Sir, had he consented to answer them under such 
circumstances the certificate of his naturalization which he had 
exhibited with a decent pride before this court ought to be 
destroyed, and the man who could have so disgraced it ought 
to be driven back to the country from which he came there to 
crouch and fawn before a lordly aristocracy. But no, sir, the 
spirit of his ' father-land ' beat high in his bosom : — a spirit 
which the impression of centuries had not been able to subdue. 
I trust and believe that rather than submit to such wantonness 
of tyranny, he would have yielded up his life as a sacrifice. Yet 
a gentleman whose name I believe is Carr, has told us that he 
thought at the time Mr. Lawless refused to answer the interro- 
gatories, there was something contemptuous in his manner, and 
the witness has illustrated by exhibiting to the Senate the pos- 
ture in which Mr. Lawless stood. He was asked whether Mr. 
Lawless had used any disrespectful language, and the reply was 
that his language was perfectly respectful, but there was a 
something in his manner which did not accord with that respect, 
which from the pre-conceived notions of the witness he thought 
due to judicial dignity. 

" I put it to the heart of every member of this most digni- 
fied court to say, whether under such aggravations he would 
have answered interrogatories ? Did not the Constitution pro- 
tect Mr. Lawless ? Was it not his right to refuse to be sworn 



HIS sPEKcn. 129 

in a prosecution nfj^ainst himself? Yet avc have been told that 
for his refusal to answer he was unprisoned twenty-four hours, 
and that until he had refused, it was the judge's intention to 
inflict no other punislunent but that of a suspension from prac 
tice. Here then we have presented to our view an attempt 
made by an American judge to compel an American citizen to 
be a witness against himself, and for no other crime but be- 
cause he stood upon his constitutional rights, and determined 
that he would not be sworn, we see him doomed to imprison- 
ment long enough to brand him with disgrace so far as this 
could be iuflicted by such a sentence. 

" When Mr. Lawless was called upon to answer interroga- 
tories, we are informed he was a good deal agitated. After his 
refusal, he read a paper to the court which he desired might be 
entered upon the record That paper is in the folloring lan- 
guage : — 

'In the District Court for the District of Missouri, sitting at St. 
Lmus, on the '■list day of April, 1826, for the decision of land 
titles. 

The United States 

vs. 
L. E. Lawless. 

' Be it remembered, that on the day and year aforesaid, " the 
said court called upon the said defendant to know whether if 
there were interrogatories filed in this cause he would answer 
them, which the said defendant declined for the following 
reasons, which he assigned to said conrt in the words following : 
First — I refuse to answer the above interrogatories, because 
this court has no jurisdiction of the offence charged upon me, 
in manner and form as the court has proceeded against me. 
Second — the positions ascribed in the nrticle signed, ' A Citizen' 
are true and fairly inferred, and extracted from tlie opiiiiou of 
this court in the case of Soulard's "Widow and Ueirs vs. The 
United States, as published." 

6* 



130 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN-. 

" To this request (I use the language of Judge Wash), 
the judge answered that it could not be put on the record, and 
that if it were it would answer no purpose, or something of that 
kind. On which Mr. Lawless remarked, it was of no great con- 
sequence, and then threw the paper down and seated himself. 
Mr Mageuis then took up the paper, and asked the judge 
whether, if it should be signed by the bystanders, he would per- 
mit it to go on the record ? The judge appeared to me to hesi- 
tate, and seemed for some time at a loss, and then replied, it 
would answer no pui'pose, and could not go on the record in that 
shape either. Whether this paper was called a bill of excep- 
tions, or what name was given to it, the witness could not say, 

" I have been thus particular in statmg this transaction from 
the lips of the principal witness o<* the respondent, because it has 
been much relied upon both by him and by his counsel. But 
with what justice, let Judge Wash himself determine. The 
following question was propounded to him by the court : — ■ 
* When Col. Lawless read the paper which had been called a bill 
of exceptions, was it pronounced by the judge, or supposed by 
you, to be intended as a new contempt V To which he answered, * 
' i never regarded it in that Ught, nor was anything said by the 
court, that I remember, which induced me to beheve that the 
court so regarded it.' 

" Let me make a few observations in explanation of this part 
of the case. We have seen that under the law of Missouri a 
writ of error is allowed in cases of contempt, and the judges of 
the Court of Error may suspend the execution of the sentence by 
a supersedeas. Mr. Lawless, therefore, m the hurry and con- 
fusion of the moment, must have thought that he might derive 
some benefit before a superior court, from having this paper 
placed upon the record. It never occurred to any of the wit- 
nesses at the time that the readmg of it was a contempt, and 
We have the oath of Mr. Lawless that he had no such mteutiou. 
" Another regular practice prevails under the laws of Mis- 
jouri, which they have borrowed from Kentucky. When a 



niS SPEECH. 131 

judge refuses to sign a bill of exceptions, the party may appeal 
to the bystanders for their signatures. Mr. Magenis must have 
had this in view, when he asked the court if they would permit 
the jiapcr to go upou the record, if it were sigued by the by- 
standers. Upon this proposition the judge doubted. Ue at 
first hesitated, and seemed to be at a loss how to decide. IJut 
at all events, both the testimony of Judge Wash and Mr. 
Mageuis prove conclusively that no insult to the judge was either 
given or intended by this proceeding. 

"The judge, without further delay, pronounced the fatal sen- 
tence against Mr. Lawless of imprisonment of twenty-four hours, 
and a forfeiture of his means of a livelihood for eighteen months 

" Was not this 'a cruel and unusual punishment?' Does it 
not violate an express provision of the Constitution ? Why 
should he not have been satisfied with the infiiction of a fine ? 
Why not punish Air. Lawless through his pocket ? It is not 
pretended that he had before ever shown any want of respect 
for that court. This was the first instance. Even if the judge 
had possessed the power, a fine of $50 or $100 would have 
answered every purpose of punishment, and would have been 
sufficient to warn others against offendmg in like manner. This, 
in every point of view, would have been infinitely better. But 
no ! Mr. Lawless must be disgraced. He must be sent to gaol, 
lie must never again appear in that court as the advocate of 
any of the land claims, to acquire a thorough knowledge of which 
he had devoted several of the best years of his life. I ask one and 
all of you to consider seriously the nature and extent of this 
punishment, and the jirovocation. Can it have proceeded from 
a i)ure motive and virtuous intention? Was it merely to vin- 
dicate the character of the court ? the honor of the judiciary ? 

" But the vindictive feeling which urged the judge to inflict 
this punishment had not cooled even twenty-two months after. 
Mr. Lawless then went from his home at St. Louis to attend 
the session of the District Court at Jefferson City, a distance of 
140 miles. Ue was there comparatively a stranger. When he 



132 LIFE AND SEEVICES OF JAMES BUCKAifAN. 

modestly presented himself for admission, tlie judge immediately 
asked, iu open court, whether the period of his suspension had 
expired. Is there a man within the sound of my voice who can 
for one moment suppose that the judge asked the question for 
the sake of information ? Can that be possible ? The punish- 
ment of Mr. Lawless was an era iu his life ; it was engraved 
upon his memory, and will remain there forever. Yet several 
months after this suspension had expired, when Mr. Lawless in 
a strange place, and before a multitude of people to whom he 
was unknown, asked for admission, he is treated with indignity. 
Judge Peck deemed it necessary, and becoming his judicial 
character, to inform the multitude that he had afQxed a stigma 
upon this man. 

" There is another circumstance to which I must advert before 
I conclude. A witness by the name of Walker has been exam- 
ined. His testimony would never have been admitted by the 
court, save on the principle that it might tend to show the feel- 
ings of Mr. Lawless, and thus prove that he was a prejudiced 
witness. Having been received upon this ground, it was after- 
wards used by tlie counsel for a totally different purpose. After 
Mr. Lawless had been goaded by oppression into madness, and 
was actuated by those feelings which naturally belong to an 
injured and suffering man, the intemperate language which 
oppression provoked and extorted from him has been gravely 
urged as an argument to justify his oppression. The effect has 
been relied upon to justify the cause. 

" !Mr. Walker met Mr. Lawless in his garden in the spring 
after his suspension and imprisonment. Every object around 
was calculated to remind him of the punishment he had en- 
dured and was still enduring. Whilst showing Mr. Walker his 
improvements, he spoke of the hardship of his suspension. He 
observed, that it had done him much injury, and interfered 
essentially with his business. But for it, he said, his improve- 
ments would have been in a more advanced state. In the very 
bitterness of his soul, however, he was unwilhng to take any 



HIS t;i'i:i:cii. 133 

iiniiiiuilv ailv;iiitng-e of Jiid!:;;f Peck, lie exclaimed, that if tlie 
jiklcre, after his eyesight should be restored, would meet liim in 
the field of honor (of false honor, I admit), ' he would let 
him olF from going to Washington.' This language wrung 
from him in his own garden, is brought here by Mr. Walker, 
who was subpoenaed to prove it, and this is the manner in 
which the respondent has been defended. Sir, no act of the 
lil'c of Mr. Lawless subsequent to the punishment inflicted upon 
him can be proper evidence in this case, but I am astonished, 
considering the well known ardor of his temperament, that 
they have not been able to prove more declarations of a similar 
character. 1 have not a doubt, but that he has a thousand 
times expressed the most indignant feeling of his persecution 

" I have now nearly done with this case ; and in conclusion, 
1 shall strongly express what I strongly feel. 1 do most solemn- 
ly believe, if this judge shall escape punishment, the descrip- 
tion which has often been contemptuously applied to the power 
of impeachment, that it is but the scare-crow of the Constitu- 
tion, will be hereafter strictly just. But the acquittal of this 
man may have a still worse effect. If the power of impeach- 
ment presents no prospect to the people of removing an arbi- 
trary and tyrannical judge, what will be the consequences ? 
They will soon begin to inquire whether the judicial office ought 
not to be limited to a term of years ; at the commence- 
ment of this trial I should have shrunk with horror from such 
a proposition. But ii" there be no other alternative — if the 
people must either be cursed during a long life with an 
arbitrary and oppressive judge who has trampled upon their 
riglits, or the Constitution must be so amended as to limit the 
term of office of the inferior judges, I should choo.se the last 
alternative, as the least of two very great evils. I say the 
inferior judges. God forbid that ever such a provision should 
extend to the judges of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. 

" Impressed with a solemn belief of the respondent's guilt, I 



134 LIFE AKD SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

now respectfully ask his conTiction. I have no regrets to 
express, no apologies to offer for the part which I have taken 
upon this trial. I have been acting in an ofBce wholly un- 
sought by myself and ungrateful to my feelings, but yet I 
enjoy the proud consciousness of reflecting, that I have done my 
duty ; I have urged the respondent's conviction with no feeling 
of personal animosity, but in the strong belief, that mercy to 
him will be cruelty to the American people I ask for his 
conviction in the name of the Judiciary, whose pure character 
he has sullied, and whose independence he has endangered. I 
ask for it in the name of the people of the United States, whose 
Constitution and laws he has violated by tyranny and oppres- 
sion. Should he be acquitted, I shall bow with the most pro- 
found respect to the judgment of this Court, but I shall never 
cease to believe, that it will establish a precedent dangerous in 
the extreme to the rights and liberties of the American peo- 
ple." 

The counsel of Judge Peck contended, in opposition to the 
arguments of the prosecution, that the article published by Mr. 
Lawless was a gross and palpable misrepresentation of his 
opinion, and calculated to bring his court into disrespect. 
That he had given Mr. Lawless every opportunity to defend 
himself and to purge himself of all intentional disrespect, but 
that he refused to do so, and even reasserted the truth of his 
pu1)lication. They contended, that a contempt had been com- 
mitted, and that the judge was right in asserting the authority 
and dignity of his court as he had done. The Senate refused 
to impeach Judge Peck, by a vote -of twenty-one for bringing 
him in guilty, to twenty-two for not guilty. AVhatever may 
have been the peculiar circumstances of the case which thus 
induced the Senate to decide, it is very evident, if Mr. Lawless 
was not justifiable in pubhshing the very temperate and consider- 
ate article he did, there are scores of individuals now who 
might be committed for contempts of judicial decisions, with ten- 



niS 6PEECU. 135 

fold more reason than the unlucky advocate of the St. Louis 
bar. The Senate, however, although refusing to impeach 
Judge Peck, shortly after, almost unanimously passed an act 
obviating whatever technical objections then stood in the way 
of his conviction, and jiiaced the law on such a basis, that no 
judge has since ventured to punish a jierson upon so frivolous 
a pretext. 

At the close of this session, March 3d, 1831, >fr. Buchanan 
voluntarily retired f/om Congress, of which he had now been a 
constant member since the 4th of March, 1821. 



136 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Ilr. Buchanan's Ten Years in Congress — New Issues — Opposition to Sectionalisn>— 
Defence of the Freedom of the Press — Mission to Russia — Election to the United 
States Senate. 

Ten successive years of active service in tlie popular branch 
of the national legislature, necessarily gives a man a thorough 
acquaintance with the details of legislation, and if he be an 
individual of even ordinary sagacity, he must be qualified for 
more responsible positions. But if he unite to a vigorous mind 
an originality of conception and an independence of thought, 
which make him a man whose influence is felt, whose presence 
is observed, and whose absence is lamented, we may conclude 
that such a man is destined to occupy something beyond a cir- 
cumscribed reputation in his country. It is not too much to say 
that Mr. Buchanan has won his present position in the affec- 
tions of the American people by the laborious industry of a 
long life devoted to their interests, and by the possession of 
those qualities both of head and heart, which have qualified 
him for retaining in so remarkable a degree their confidence, 
and in discharging with so much acceptance the responsible 
duties with which he has been entrusted. A brief review of 
his early Congressional career, a mere outline of which we have 
only been able to give in the preceding chapters, will illustrate 
more forcibly than words the truth of what we say. He 
entered Congress at a period when party lines were not drawn 
with that rigid exactness which has marked political life since 
that time. Mr. Monroe had just been elevated a second tinio 



niS TEN YEARS TS C0XGKES3. 16 ^ 

to the presidential chair by the almost unanimous consent of 
the electors of all the States. The federal party had been 
dissolved immediately after the war of 1812, and political 
issues had not yet again assumed a definite form. New issues 
were arising, which it became every one to meet. What men 
bad been previously was of no consequence, if they now should 
prove true to democratic principles in the new era which the 
progress of our national government was inaugurating. Unlike a 
despotism, where everything is governed by the voice of one 
man, we cannot expect that quietness and calmness where the 
conflicting forces of truth and error have fair play and every 
opportunity to combat each other. 

JelTerson had fought one great battle for democratic institu- 
tions, and his enemies had sought refuge in annihilation, or 
what was the next thing to it, had denied their name. They 
were now coalescing under new leaders, and marshalling their 
forces to come forth and give battle to the friends of demo- 
cracy, under other names and upon other questions. The first 
measure, as wc have seen, which they brought up, was a bank- 
rupt bill, or, in other words, an act declaring that a man need 
not pay his honest debts. A measure more unjust, more un- 
fair, or more inimical to the whole spirit and tenor of our insti- 
tutions can scarcely be conceived. Let those who accuse Mr. 
Buchanan of federalism read the noble speech of his upon this 
iniquitous measure. Upon his very first entrance into Congress 
we find him battling for the cause of equal rights — for special 
privileges to none, and for justice to all ; and opposing this bill 
with all the power of his logic, and with all the ability which 
his distinguished talents could bring to the consideration of the 
subject. 

Even upon the question of internal improvements, then not 
yet definitely settled, as regards the constitutional principle in- 
volved in them, we find him instinctively adhering to the demo- 
cratic doctrine of strict interpretation, and when Mr. Monroe's 
great message on this subject appeared, he had only to acknow 



138 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANA.N. 

ledge it as an endorsement of his own preconceived opinions. 
On the question of the tariff we find him with Gen. Jackson 
and the democracy generally, denying the right- of Congress 
to levy duties except for revenue, but willing to grant, in levy- 
ing such duties, that incidental protection which would be bene- 
ficial to the industry of the country, and not calculated to ad- 
vance special interests to the injury of the general welfare. As 
early as 1823 we find him a foe to sectional strife, and an 
enemy to that spirit which seeks the destruction of our Con- 
stitution, that it may rule over its ruins. Ambition never so 
far enticed him from the path of rectitude as to enable him to 
contemplate the overthrow of this government, which had re- 
quired so much blood and treasure to establish, without the most 
painful emotions. lie was born too near the era when the noble 
spirit of republican freedom took its rise, and had caught some- 
what of its holy inspiration from the lingering patriots of the 
revolution. More than thirty years- ago he solemnly promised 
" that he should forever avoid any expression, the direct ten- 
dency of which must be to create sectional jealousies, sectional 
divisions, and at length, disunion, that worst and last of all 
poUtical calamities." And who shall say that James Buchanan 
has not been faithful to this promise, made when he was a 
young man, on the floor of the House of Representatives ? 
Let the captious fault-finder search his life, and he will — he 
must come to the conclusion, that for steady devotion to this 
sentiment, he stands before the country a model of consistency. 
Whatever may be the opinion of even his enemies in other re- 
spects, they must award him this praise. It is no trifling boast, 
therefore, to make, that in all that has been said by difierent 
parties to produce irritation between difl"erent sections of our 
country, no one can charge that one word has ever been uttered 
by James Buchanan. It is only proper to say, however, that no 
man in the midst of the excited discussions which have occurred 
for a quarter of a century, could have achieved this result 
merely from a settled design. It must have originated, as all 



DliFENCE OF THK FREEDOM OF TUE TRESS. 139 

who know Mr. Buchanan will testify, from his personal charac- 
ter, from that rigid sense of justice to all, and of devoted love 
for the institutions of his country, which is emphatically a part 
of his very nature. 

Following his career in Congress a little further, we find 
him in 1826 expounding in an able speech of two days in 
length, the whole range of our judicial system, going into all 
minor details of legal formulae, and evincing an acquaintance 
with jurisprudence which would have done credit to lawyers 
of twice his age. On the mission to Panama he delivers a 
speech full of the most patriotic Americanism, and taking a 
survey of the importance of the tropical regions of the Gulf 
of Mexico to this country, which seems at this day like the 
vision of the prophet penetrating futurity. Time has only 
served to confirm the truth of his statements, and yet we have 
some persons even yet, venerable fossils, who do not see the 
commercial and military value of " the gem of the Antilles." 

Finally, as an appropriate close to his representative career, 
we see him selected as chairman of the Board of ^lanagers, 
among whom such names as ilcDudie, Wicklifife, and Spencer 
stand prominent, to conduct the impeachment of a high judi- 
cial functionary at the bar of the Senate of the United States. 
There he ranks second to none in the ability and vigor with 
which he supports the freedom of the press and the rights of 
the people. Indeed, through his whole ten years in the House 
of Representatives, we find him upon all occasions the defender 
of popular rights, the ui)holder of democratic doctrine, and the 
enemy of those who would turn the government into a macliiue 
for plundering instead of protecting the people. 

Shortly after Mr. Buchanan's voluntary retirement from Con- 
gress, he was honored by President Jackson with the appoint- 
ment of minister to Russia. How he filled this distinguished 
position the records of the State Department will show. His 
diplomatic life was marked by the same scrupulous regard for 
duty, and the same careful concern for the interests of his 



140 LIFE AND SEEYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

country. Among other valuable services wliich he performed 
for his country while on that mission, was the negotiation with 
Count Nesselrode on the part of the Czar, of the first commer- 
cial treaty between Russia and the United States, by which 
valuable advantages were secured for our commerce in the 
Baltic and Black Seas. In this connection it may not be im- 
proper to refer to the testimony of the venerable Judge Wil- 
kins, his successor at St. Petersburg, formerly Secretary of 
War, senator in Congress, &c., as to the effect that Mr. Bu- 
chanan produced in Russia in favor of his country. On a recent 
occasion the judge remarked : " He had been associated with 
him, and had always had the highest respect for him as a 
citizen — as a professional man — and as a statesman. It had 
been his honor to follow in his footsteps. He had traced him 
through Europe. He had been at a foreign court, after Mr. 
Buchanan had represented the government of the United States 
there, with such unsullied and pre-eminent honor. Walking in 
his footsteps, many thousand miles from here, he could see, and 
plainly trace, the high respect which followed every official act 
of his, and the whole deportment of his private conduct. 
St. Petersburg was full of admiration for the American states- 
man ; and so effectually did he perform his duties there, and so 
effectually did he endear this government to Russia, and so 
effectually did he arrange the commercial and diplomatic con- 
cerns of the two countries, that he left nothing in the world for 
him (Mr. Wilkins) to do but to state that he was his humble 
successor. He had preoccupied the ground and filled the 
demands of his government." 

After the return of Mr. Buchanan from Russia in 1833, he 
was elected to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate, 
caused by the resignation of the very Judge Wilkins who bears 
such a noble and voluntary testimony to his fidelity to duty 
He had left Congress just as the storm, which the rigid princi- 
ples Gen. Jackson maugurated, had been raised. He was des- 



KLECTION TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 141 

tincci to return to the theatre of his duties in time to corae, to 
tlic rescue of his early friend, and bear a part in the memora- 
ble struggles that tlie democracy encountered during bis admin- 
istration. Mr. Buchanan left Congress just at the breaking out 
of the rupture between Air. Calhoun and Gen. Jackson, which 
fuially produced a dissolution of the Cabinet and much ill-feeling 
which it is now painful to contemplate. The great battle ou 
the renewal of the charter of the United States Bank had been 
fought and won during the session of 1831-32. Mr. Buchanan 
had not participated in the struggle, but he returned in time to 
bear an honorable part in maintaining possession of the field, 
and in fortifying it against further assaults. 



142 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUG HAN AN. 



CHAPTER IX. 

French Eeprisals — Executive l*atronage — Mr. Clay and Mr. Buchanan — Conclusion of 
Twenty-tliird Congress. 

On the 15tli of December, 1834, Mr. Buclianan took his seat 
iu the Senate of the United States. We may well say that " in 
those days there were giants in the land." Among the distin- 
guished individuals, now numbered with the dead, whom Mr. 
Buchanan there met, were Daniel Webster, Silas Wright, John 
C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay. He had encountered all of these 
before, however, in the popular branch of the national legisla- 
ture, and it was therefore but the reunion of old companions 
among whom, although they had often measured their strength 
in manly debate, nothing but the most kindly personal feeliugs- 
existed. The era of malignant speeches, of crimination and re- 
crimination, had not yet commenced. Massachusetts iu thos*) 
days delivered eulogiums upon South Carolina, and South Caro- 
lina, with the natural grace of her chivalric sons, did not hesi- 
tate to return the compliment. The intercourse which should 
distinguish gentlemen was not only strictly observed, but each 
one seemed to instinctively feel that a difference in education, 
habits and domestic institutions demanded a mutual respect 
for one another's feelings which no excitement should allow them 
to disregard. Unfortunately, a WTctched delusion and the heat 
of party strife has now nearly destroyed the era of good fellow- 
ship, and has placed those in antagonistic positions who have no 
good reason to be anything but brothers. It is to be hoped, 
however, that the storm which for thirty years has been 



FRENCn REPRISALS. H3 

pathcring:, will pass away without injury to our institutions, 
leaving the poiiiical atmosphere all the more clear and trans- 
piircut ou accouiit of the temporary clouds that have enveloped 
us. 

Almost the first thing of national importance which came 
before Congress, was a resolution reported by Mr. Clay from 
the committee on Foreign Relations, to the effect that it was inex- 
pedient to pass a law authorizing the President to make reprisals 
upon Frcuch property, to force that government to pay the 
indemnity stipulated by the treaty of 1831. We had waited 
for three years the tardy action of the French government until 
tlie claims began to be with us a question of honor. The Pret- 
Rident had rci)caiodly urged our demands upon tlie attention of 
France, but had only received promises which had never been 
fulliiled. At the risk, therefore, of the charge of desiring to 
involve the two countries iu a war, he believed we ought to 
assert our rights and maintain them, as the very safest method 
even to avoid a conflict. Mr. Buchanan ably supported this 
decidedly American view of the subject. In the course of some 
remarks upon tLe resolution, he paid a handsome comjjhment to 
France, declaring " that she was a brave and chivalrous nation, 
whose whole history proves that she is not to be intimidated 
even l)y Europe in arms." But said he, " France is wise as well 
warlike ; and to inform her that our rights must be asserted, is 
to place her in the serious aud solemn position of deciding 
whether she wiil, for the sake of a few millions of francs, resist 
the payment of a just debt by force." The matter, however, 
was postponed until the next Session of Congress, ou account 
of the meeting of the French Chamber of Deputies. 

Among the subjects of debate before the Senate at this ses- 
tjion, was " E.xecutive Patronage." Charges of the most indis- 
criminate and wholesale removals from office had been brought 
against General Jackson, and Mr. Clay opened ui)on his ancient 
enemy with ail the force and power which the batteries of hi* 
eloqueuce could furnish. Mr. Buchanan delivered his sptecb 



144: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

upon tlie subject on the ITth of February, showing the power 
of removal from office was an mdispeusable requisite of the 
executive department of the government, without which it could 
not perform the duties imposed upon it by the Constitution. 
After stating the plain import and meaning of the Constitution, 
Mr. Buchanan observed : 

" But, sir, if doubts could arise on the language of the Con- 
stitution itself, then it would become proper, for the purpose of 
ascertaining the true meaning of the instrument, to retort to 
arguments ah inconvenknti. The framers of the Constitution 
never intended it to mean what would be absurd, or what would 
defeat the very purposes which it was intended to accomplish. I 
think I can prove that to deprive the President of the power 
of removal would be fatal to the best interests of the country. 

" And, first, the Senate cannot always be in session. I thank 
Heaven for that. We must separate and attend to our ordinary 
business. It is necessary for a healthy political Constitution that 
we should breathe the fresh and pure air of the country. The 
political excitement would rise too high if it were not cooled 
off in this manner. The American people never will consent 
and never ought to consent, that our sessions shall become per- 
petual. The framers of the Constitution never intended that, 
this should be the case. But once establish the principle that 
the Senate must consent to removals, as well as to appoint- 
ments, and this consequence is inevitable. A foreign minister in 
a remote part of the world is pursuing a course dangerous to 
the best interests, and ruinous to the character, of the country. 
He is disgracing us abroad and endangering the public peace. 
He has been intrusted with an important negotiation, and is be- 
traying his trust. He has become corrupt, or is entirely incom- 
petent. The information arrives at Washington, three or four 
days after the adjournment of Congress on the 3d of March. 
What is to be done ? is the President entirely powerless until 
the succeeding December, when the Senate may meet agam ? 



F.xr.DUTivi-: rATiioxAOK. 145 

Shall lie be ol)liui;cd to await until the mischief is entirely con- 
suinniated — until the country is ruined — before he can recall 
the corrnpt or wicked minister ? Or will any genllen\an contend 
that, uj)on every occasion, when a removal from ofiice becomes 
necessary, he shall call the senators from their homes throughout 
this widely extended Republic ? And yet this is the inevitable 
consequence of the position contended for by gentlemen. Could 
tiie framers of the Constitution ever have intended such an ab- 
surdity ? This argument was also adverted to by Mr. Madison. 

" But again, there are great numbers of disbursing officers 
scattered over this L^nion. Information is received, during the 
recess of the Senate, that oue of them in Arkansas or at the 
Kocty Mountains has been guilty of peculation, and is wast- 
ing the public money. Must the President fold his arms, and 
sufft r him to proceed in his fraudulent course, until the next 
meeting of the Senate ? The truth is, that the President cannot 
exe.'iute the laws of the Union without the power of removal. 

" But cases still stronger may be presented. The heads of 
dej artraents are the confidential advisers of the President. It 
is chiefly through their agency that he must conduct the great 
op'ijrations of governmeuts. Without a direct control over 
them, it would be impossible for him to take care that the laws 
should be faithfully executed. Suppose that one of them dur- 
ing the recess of the Senate, violates his instructions, refuses to 
hold any intercourse with the President, and pursues a career 
which he believes to be in opposition to the Constitution of the 
country. Shall the executive arms be paralyzed, and in such 
a case must he presently submit to all these evils until the 
Senate can be convened ? In time of war the country might 
be ruined by a corrupt Secretary of "War, before the Senate 
could be assembled. 

" It is not my intention on this occasion to discuss the ques- 
tion of the removal of the deposits from the Bank of the 
United States. I merely wish to present it as a forcible illustra- 
tion of my argument. Suppose the late Secretary of th« 

7* 



146 LIFE AND SEEVICE3 OF JAilES BUCnAS AJf. 

Treasury bad determined to remove the deposits, and the Pre- 
sident had believed this measure would be as ruinous to the 
country, as the friends of the bank apprehended. If the 
secretary, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the President, 
had proceeded to issue the order for theh" removal, what should 
we have heard from those v.-ho were loudest in their denuncia- 
tions against the executive, if be had said, my arms are tied, I 
have no power to arrest the act ; the deposits must be 
removed, because I cannot remove my secretary ? Here the 
evil would have been done before the Senate could possibly have 
been assembled. I am indebted to the speech of the senator 
from South Carohna (Mr. Calhoun) at the last session for this 
illustration. The truth is this, view the subject in any light you 
may, the power of removal is in its nature inseparable from the 
executive power." 

The proposal of Mr. Clay doubtless originated more in a 
dislike to Gen. Jackson than to a really candid belier that 
such a measure as he proposed could or would be beneficia"" 
to the interests of the country. To deprive the President of 
the power of removal from office would, in effect, be depriving 
him of his executive functions. The bill was finally modified 
so as to limit the term of ofBce of certain officers, and in this 
form passed the Senate. The decided stand which Mr. 
Buchanan took against this bill and the ardor with which Mr. 
Clay pressed it, brought them very often on the floor of the 
Seuate into opposition to each other. They both, however, 
possessed too much dignity of character to allow themselves to 
resort to anything but the most courteous deportment in their 
public intercourse, which was as honorable and manly as their 
private relations were cordial and agreeable. And here it may 
be remarked that Mr. Clay and Mr. Buchanan were always 
personal friends, notwithstanding the efforts of many malicious 
persons to produce a rupture. During the debate upon this 
biU there occurred one of those agreeable episodes between 



MR. CLAY AND MR. BUCnANAN. " 1-47 

tlfcm, wliich was so illustrative of their intercourse. Mr. Clay, 
in the closing portion of a speech denying the constitutional 
power to confer upon the President the power of removal from 
office without the consent of the Senate, remarked, " that when 
the subject should be resumed, he should expect to see (giving 
one of his searching glances towards the friends of Gen, 
Jackson) some of the leaders of the administration party come 
out, with book in hand, and show the text for this tremendous 
power." 

Mr. Buchanan, who pre.'umed he was meant, replied, " I am 
exceedingly sorry, ^Mr. President, that the senator from Ken- 
tucky appears to be disposed so often to pay his compliments to 
myself." 

;Mr. Clay gracefully disavowed " any allusion to the senator 
from Pennsylvania." 

Mr. Buchanan remarked that "when the gentleman spoke 
of the leaders of the administration party, he looked at me, and 
I understood him as referring to me." 

" I assure the gentleman," resumed Mr. Clay, " I had no 
allusion to him whatever. I might look at him as he looks at 
me sometimes ; but I think at the time I spoke of the leaders 
of a particular party, I was looking rather to the senator from 
New York (Mr. Wright) than to him." 

}>It. Buchanan replied, "that without going further into the 
question of who the gentleman referred to in his remarks, I 
will state that, whenever he thinks proper to take up the 
subject and attempt to prove that the practice under which 
this government has flourished and which was sustained by 
Madison, is not founded in reason and justice, is not necessary 
for the proper administration of the goveniraent, and is not 
consistent with the Constitution, then I will be ready to meet 
him." 

"We shall meet, then," said Mr. Clay, with admirablo 
adroitness, " at Philippi." 

The Senate, dignified and deliberate as it was in the trans 



14:8 LIFE AND SEEYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

action of important business, was not always without its 
seasons of relaxation and even amusement. A pleasant scene 
occurred during the present session, upon the leception of some 
presents which the Emperor of Morocco had sent to the Presi- 
dent. These testimonials of royal favor consisted of two 
Arabian horses and a lion ; but as our Constitution does not 
allow the Chief Magistrate to receive presents from a foreign 
potentate, some disposition had to be made of the munificence 
of the barbarian prince. A resolution had been reported by a 
committee that the lion and horses be sold by public auction. 
Mr. Frelinghuysen, the present venerable President of Prince- 
ton College, moved "that the hon be presented to the proprie- 
tor of Peale's Museum, in New York, and that the horses be 
given to some agricultural society." 

Mr. Porter, of Louisiana, " objected to this, as New York 
'State was already the richest in the Union. He would give 
the lion to the State of New Jersey if the gentleman deshed it, 
but thought Louisiana ought to have the horses." 

Mr, Poindexter, of Mississipppi, considering our delicate 
relations with France, moved "that the lion be presented to 
Louis Philippe." 

Mr. Buchanan said " he opposed this on the ground that it 
would be a declaration of war." 

Mr. Shipley, of Maine, " desired to know where the gentle- 
men obtained their authority in the Constitution to give away 
the property of the United States." 

Mr. Frelinghuysen replied, " that this question could be best 
settled on the principles of common law. In order to legally 
dispose of property, we must first be able to hold it ; and ho 
did not see how we could hold the hon." 

A resolution was finally adopted, authorizing the sale of tho 
horses by public auction, and the presentation of his kingly 
majesty, the lion, to such person or persons as the President 
might designate. 

The twenty-thu-d Congress ex].3ired ou the 3d of March, 



COXCLUSION OF TWENTV-TlIinD CONGRESS. 14?I 

1835. On tlic very last day of the session a very excited 
debate occurred upon tlio famous "expunging' resolution" 
introduced by Mr, Benton, by which it was desired to expunge 
from the journal of the Senate a resolution adopted in March, 
1834, censuring Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits from 
the United States Bank. Mr. Buchanan participated actively 
in the discussion, and voted among the heroic band who were 
determined to vindicate Gen. Jackson on the floor of the Senate 
from tlie odium of a censure which had been the offspring of 
momentary party exasperation. 



150 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER X. 

New Aspect of the Slavery Question — Incendiary Publications — Abolition of Slavery ia 
the District of Columbia — Affairs of Texas — Sufferers by Great Fire in New York. 

The twenty-fourth Congress assembled on the Ith of Decem- 
ber, 1835. Among the new members who made their appear- 
ance in the Senate at this session were John Davis, of Massa- 
chusetts ; J. J. Crittenden of Kentucky ; and Robert J. Walker, 
of Mississippi. Almost the first thing that came before the 
Senate was the subject of negro slavery. It came up by a refer- 
ence in the message of Gen. Jackson in regard to the circulation 
by the United States mail, of incendiary publications designed 
to excite insurrection in the Southern States, and upon memo- 
rials for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. 
The question was then in most of its aspects a new one. It 
had been before Congress previously, but simply as a measure 
for excluding it from further extension. Now, however, the 
question was assuming a different form. It had come from 
England, like most of our errors, covered with the conquests for 
"freedom" it had there made under the lead of such torieS' as 
Wilberforce and Clarkson, and was about to be inaugurated as 
an element in our society. " A slave could not breathe in Eng- 
land" had been sung by her poets, and repeated by her orators, 
until their strains for freedom had actually drowned the voices 
of the patriotic " sons of Itberty" who in 1116 had ridiculed in 
poor doggerel, but full of magnificent patriotism, the tyranny of 
George the Third, and his unlucky generals, Burgoyne and Corn- 
wallis. The turning of a few negroes loose in Jamaica, to go back 
to the fdichisms of their ancestors, was heralded as an act'' of 
devotion to the cause of human liberty which had made angeia 



KEW ASPKCT OF THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 151 

glad, and produced rapture even in lioavcn, The reception of 
this abolition exotic in our country was at first, however, cold 
and disthiinful. Its advocates were mobbed as readily at the 
North as tliey would now be at the Soutli. All regarded the 
doctrine of equality with negroes with something like indefinable 
horror ; and although the general sentiment of the comnnmity, 
both North and South, at that day was opposition to negro 
slavery in the abstract, yet anything that looked like placing 
white men and negroes upon terms of social and legal equality 
was instinctively rejected as outrageous and degrading. There 
were but few men who then had the courage to call them- 
selves abolitionists ; and it is to be charitably supposed that 
those who did brave the odium of the charge were honest in 
tlieir opinions, and actuated, if by a mistaken, certainly by a sin- 
cere desire to benefit the negro. No one at this time probably 
denied the injustice of negro servitude in the abstract. The 
demonstration of the incapacity of the negro race to retain the 
advantages of civilization, when left to itself, had not been 
afforded by the results of British emancipation in the West 
Indies ; a^d the unwilling conclusion had not been forced upoa 
the minds of even the best and most benevolent men, that some 
legal status for the negro, difierent from that apjilied to white 
men, is absolutely essential for the welfare of every society where 
any considerable number of both races live in juxtaposition. 
AVhatever, though, may be the oi)inion of any person upon this 
]i(>int, the constitutional guarantees between the States are 
plain and explicit ; and while Mr. Buchanan held to the view 
of the time in regard to slavery in the abstract, yet he went to 
the utmost limit of constitutional jiower in protecting the South- 
ern States from what was then thought to be the danger of 
incendiary publications. 

The story of the St. Domingo massacres which had been 
duly told by British historians, and ascribed entirely to the 
negroes (which, if we may now believe reliable witnesses, 
were like the atrocities of the French Revolution, instigated 



152 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

by British agents), had created a profound sensation through 
out the Southern States. President Jackson had recom- 
mended that some measures be taken to afford the South such 
protection as seemed proper. Mr. Buchanan, in the debate on 
the subject, said he woukl be willing to go to the full constitu- 
tional power on the subject, and placed his advocacy of whatever 
measure could be constitutionally adopted upon the ground that, 
if the inflammatory publications and pictorial illustrations refer- 
red to were calculated to excite insurrection, the United States 
ought not to allow its agents to knowingly be guilty of circu- 
lating them ; otherwise the Constitution formed for the purpose 
of insuring domestic tranquillity becomes an agent for foment- 
ing discord — in fact, was in effect, by its operation, destroying 
itself, and instead of being a protection for the common defence, 
was actually the worst enemy the States where slavery existed 
could have. If the danger of negro insurrections had been what 
it was supposed to be at that time, these would have been very 
just and proper views ; but a more extended acquaintance with 
negro "slavery" has shovm that no society which treats its 
negroes with any proper degree of humanity need ever fear an 
insuh'ection. The attachment formed by these faithful and 
devoted children of the sun to their masters, gives rise to no more 
apprehensions of revolt than may be anticipated by a father of a 
family among his children. 

The abolition of slavery in the District of Colmnbia arose 
from memorials for that object which had been presented by 
societies of Friends in different portions of the country. These 
memorials had been received for many years from this peculiar 
but worthy body of Christians, and had given rise to but little 
or no debate. Their manifestoes had been quietly consigned to 
the tomb of the Capulets, and the public business duly pro- 
ceeded with ; but in the excited state of pubhc feeling which 
now existed, they caused a long and animated discussion. Mr. 
Buchanan met the question in the outset in the following frank 
and decided manner : 



ACOhiriON IN TUE DISTEICT OF COLUMDIA. 153 

" What is now asked by these memorialists ? That in this 
District often miles square — a District carved out of two slave- 
holding States, and surrounded by them on all sides, slavery 
shall be abolished ! "What would be the efifccts of granting 
their request ? You would thus erect a citadel in the very 
hearts of these States, upon a territory which they have ceded 
to you for a far different purpose, from which abolitionists and 
incendiaries could securely attack the peace and safety of their 
citizens. You establish a spot within the slaveholding States 
which would be a city of refuge for runaway slaves. You create 
by law a central point from which trains of gunpowder may be 
securely laid, extending into the surrounding States, which may 
at any moment produce a f(;arful and destructive explosion. 
I'y passing such a law, you introduce the enemy into the very 
bosom of these two States, and afford him every opportunity to 
produce a servile insurrection. Is there any reasonable man 
who can for one moment sujjposc that Virginia and Maryland 
would have ceded the District of Columbia to the United Stateo, 
if they had entertained the slightest idea that Congress would 
ever use it for any such purpose ? They ceded it for your use, 
for your convenience, and not for their own destruction. When 
slavery ceases to exist under the laws of Virginia and Maryland, 
then, and not till then, ought it to be abolished in the District 
of Columbia." 

In a further debate upon this subject, ^fr. Buchanan more 
fully stated his position upon the question as follows : — 

'• I shall now proceed to defend my own motion from the 
attacks which have been made upon it. It has been equally 
opposed by both extremes. I have not found upon the present 
occasion, the maxim to be true, that ' in medio tutissimus ihis.^ 
The senator from Louisiana (Mr. Porter), and the senator 
from Massachusetts (Mr. WcVistcr), seem both to believe that 
little if any, difference exists between the refusal to receive a 

1* 



154 LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN-. 

petition, and the rejection of its prayer after it has been re- 
ceived. Indeed, the gentleman from Louisiana, whom I am 
happy to call my friend, says he can see no difference at 
all between those motions. At the moment I heard this remark 
I was inclined to believe that it proceeded from that confusion 
of ideas which sometimes exists in the clearest heads of that 
country from which he derives his origin, and from which I am 
myself proud to be descended. What, sir I no difference be- 
tween refusing to receive a request at all, and actually receiv- 
ing it and considering it respectfully, and afterwards deciding, 
without delay, that it is not in your power to grant it 1 There 
is no man in the country acquainted with the meanuig of. the 
plainest words in the English language, who will not recog- 
nize the distinction in a moment. 

" If a constituent of that gentleman should present to him a 
written request, and he should tell him to go about his business, 
and take his paper with him, that he would not have anything 
to do with liim or it ; this would be to refuse to receive the 
petition. 

" On the other hand, if the gentleman should receive this 
vvritten request of his constituent, read it over carefully and 
respectfully, and file it away among his papers, but, finding it 
tvas of an unreasonable or dangerous character, he should in- 
form him, without taking further time to reflect upon it, that 
the case was a plain one, and that he could not, consistently 
with what he believed to be his duty, grant the request, this 
would be to reject the prayer of the petition. 

" There is as much difference between the two cases as there 
would be between kicking a man down stairs who attempted to 
enter your house, and receiving him politely, examming his 
request, and then refusing to comply with it. 

"It has been suggested, that the most proper course would be 
to refer his petition to a committee. What possible good can 
result from referring it ? Is there a senator on this floor who 
has not long since determined whether he will vote to abolish 



AJJOLITIOX IN THE niSTUICT OF COIX'ilBIA. 155 

slavery in the District or not ? Docs any gentleman require the 
rci)ort of a comuiittcc, iu order to enable him to decide this 
question ? Not one. 

"liy granting the prayer of this memorial, as I observed on 
a former occasion, you would establish a magazine of gunpow- 
der here, from which trains might be laid into the surrounding 
States which would produce fearful explosions. In the very 
heart of the slaveholding States themselves you would erect an 
Impregnable citadel, from whence the abolitionists might 
eecm'cly spread throughout these States by circulating their 
incendiary pamphlets and pictures, the seeds of disunion, insur- 
rection, and servile war. You would thus take advantage of 
the generous coiiGdence of Virginia and Maryland in ceding to 
you this District, without expressly forbidding (-ongress to 
abolish slavery here whilst it exists within their limits. No 
man can, for one moment, suppose that they would have made 
this upon any other terms, had they uuagined that a neces- 
sity could ever exist for such a restriction. Whatever may bo 
my opinion of the power of (Congress under the Constitution, to 
interfere with this question about which at present I say noth- 
ing, I shall as steadily and as sternly oppose its exercise as if 
I believed no such power to exist. 

" In making the motion now before the Senate, I intended 
to adopt as strong a measure as I could, consistently with the 
right of petition and a proper resjiect for the petitioners. I 
am the last man in the world who would intentionally treat 
these respectable constituents of my own with disrespect. I 
know them well, and prize them highly. On a former occasion, 
1 did ample justice to their character. I deny that they are 
abolitionists. 1 cannot, however, conceive how any person 
could have supposed that it was disrespectful to them to refuse 
to grant their prayer in the first instance, and not disrespect- 
ful to refuse to grant it after their memorial had lieen referred 
to a committee. In the first case, their memorial will be receiv- 
ed by the Senate, and will be filed among the records of the 



156 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHA2fA2f. 

country. That it has already been the subject of sufficient 
deliberation and debate, that it has already occupied a due 
portion of the time of the Senate cannot be doubted or denied. 
Every one acquainted with the proceedings of our courts of 
justice must know that often, very often, when petitions are 
presented to them, the request is refused without any delay. 
This is always done in a plain case by a competent judge. And 
yet, who ever heard that this was treating the petition with 
disrespect ? In order to be respectful to these memorialists, 
must we go through the unmeaning form in this case of refer- 
ring the memorial to a committee, and pretending to deliber- 
ate, when we are now all fully prepared to decide ? 

" I repeat, too, that I intended to make as strong a motion 
in this case as the circumstances would justify. ♦ It is neces- 
sary that we should use every constitutional effort to suppress 
the agitation which now disturbs the land. This is necessary, 
as much for the happiness and future prospects of the slave as 
for the security of the master. Before this storm began to 
rage, the laws in regard to slaves had been really ameliorated 
by the slave-holding States ; they enjoyed many privileges 
which were unknown in former times. In some of the slave 
States prospective and gradual emancij)ation was pubhcly and 
seriously discussed. But now, thanks to the efforts of the 
aboUtionists, the slaves have been deprived of these privileges, 
and, whilst the integrity of the Union is endangered, their 
prospect of final emancipation is delayed to an indefinite period. 
To leave this question where the Constitution has left it, to the 
slaveholdiug States themselves, is equally dictated by a humane 
regard for the slaves as well as for their masters." 

During this session there was much discussion in regard to the 
affairs of Texas. This gallant State was then passing through 
its battle for independence, and Santa Anna with all the pom- 
posity of his nature was endeavoring to compel his revolted 
province to return to its ancient allegiance. Mr. Buchanan was 



AFFAIRS IN TEXAS. 157 

one of its earliest, most devoted frieuds and defenders. It was 
an odimu then to sympathize with the heroic men who were 
rescuing the fair phiins of Texas from the curse of Spanish- 
American despotism, and consecrating them to the genius of 
American liberty, and a man ran the risk of being called " a 
irieud of adventurers," " a fillibuster," and other opprobrious 
epithets which have fortunately ceased to frighten those lovers 
of free institutions, who patriotically wish to see all nations en- 
joy the same blessing of civil and religious liberty which have 
made our country the pride of its citizens, and the terror of ty- 
rants everywhere. Mr. Buchanan in the debate upon the affairs 
of Texas had early and nobly stated his sympathy with the 
heroic band struggling for liberty : 

" lu regard to Mexico, Mr. B. said, he looked upon Santa Anna 
as a usurper. The federal Constitution, established for the 
republic of Mexico, and which Texas as a part of that repul> 
lie, had sworn to support, had been trampled on by him ; Texas, 
in his eyes, and in the eyes of all mankind, was justified in 
rebelling against him. Whether the Texans acted consistently 
with a true policy at the time, in declaring their independence, 
he should not discuss, nor should he decide ; but as a man and 
an American, he should be rejoiced to see them successful in 
maintaining theur liberties, and he trusted in God they would be 
so. lie would, however, leave them to rely on their own brave- 
ry, with every hope and prayer that the God of battles would 
shield them with His protection. 

" If Santa Anna excited the Indians within our territory to 
deeds of massacre and blood ; if he should excite a spirit 
among them which he cannot restrain ; and if, in consequence 
the blood of our women and children on the frontiers shall flow, 
he undoubtedly ought to be held responsible. Mr. Buchanan 
saw a strong necessity for sending a force to the frontiers, not 
only to restrain the natural disposition of the Indians to deeds 
of violence, but because they could place no confidence in a man 



158 LIFE AXD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHA^S'AN. 

tvlio had so little command of his temper, who had shown so 
♦ruel and sanguinary a disposition as Santa Anna had. He was 
for having a force speedily sent to that frontier, and a force 
of mounted men or dragoons, as suggested by the Siinator from 
Missouri (Mr. Linn); but he was against interfering iu the war 
now raging in Texas, unless an attack should be made on us.'' 

In a more elaborate speech upon the same subject on the 9th 
of May, 1836, Mr. Buchanan said : 

" In some remarks which he had submitted to the Senate a 
few days since, and which, like all other proceedings iu this 
body, had been much misrepresented abroad, he had indulged 
the feelings of a man and an American. What he then had 
uttered were the sentiments of his heart in relation to the exist, 
ing struggle in Texas. But as to the independence of that coun- 
try, he thought it prudent to z'efer back to the conduct of our 
ancestors, when placed in similar circumstances, and to derive 
lessons of wisdom from their example. If there was any one 
principle of our public policy which had been well settled — one 
which had been acted upon by every administration, and which 
had met the approbation not only of this country, but of every 
civilized government with which we have intercourse — it was, 
that we should never interfere in the domestic concerns of other 
nations. Recognizing in the people of every nation the absolute 
right to adopt such form of government as they thought proper, 
we have always preserved the strictest neutrality between the 
parties in every country, whilst engaged in civil war. We have 
left all nations perfectly free, so far as we are concerned, to 
establish, to maintain or to change their forms of government, 
according to their own sovereign will and pleasure, 

" It would indeed be surprising, and more than this it 
would be unnatural, if the sympathies of the American people 
should not be deeply, earnestly enlisted in favor of those who 
drew the sword for liberty throughout the world, no matter 



A.FFAIKS IN TEXAS. 15U 

wliere it was to strike. Beyond tliis we had never proceeded. 
Tlie peaccfal influence of our example upon other nations is 
much greater. The cause of free government is thus more 
efficiently promoted than if we should waste the blood and 
treasure of the people of the United States in foreign wars, 
waged even to maintain the sacred cause of liberty. The world 
must be persuaded — it cannot be conquered. Besides we can 
never, with any proper regard for the welfare of our consti- 
tuents, devote their energies and their resources to the cause of 
planting and sustaining free institutions among the people of 
other nations, 

" Acting upon these principles, we have always recognized 
existing governments, or governments de facto, whether they 
were constitutional or despotic. We have the same amicable 
relations with despotisms as with free governments, because we 
have no riglit to quarrel with the people of any nation on 
account of the form of their government which they may think 
proper to adopt or to sanction. It is their affair — not ours. 
We should not tolerate such interference from abroad, and we 
ought to demean ourselves towards foreign nations as we should 
require them to act towards ourselves. 

" A very striking illustration of this principle has been pre- 
sented during the present administration, in the case of Portu- 
cai. We recognized Don Miguel's government, because he 
was de fndo in possession of the throne, apparently with the 
ionsent of the Portuguese people. In this respect Mr. B. be 
ieved we stood alone, or nearly alone, among the nations of 
;he earth When he was expelled from that country, and the 
present queen seemed firmly seated upon the throne, we had 
ao difficulty in pursuing our established policy in recognizing 
ier government 

" A still more striking case, and one to the very point in 
question, had occurred during Mr. Monroe's administration 
The Spanish provinces throughout the whole continent of 
America had raised the standard of rebellion against the king 



160 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAM?:S BL JUANAN. 

of Spain ; tliey were struggiiug for liberty a^^ainst opprc-^ion. 
Tlie feelings of the American people vrere devotedly ehiisted 
in their favor. Our ardent wishes and our prayers for their 
success continued throughout the whole long and bloody con- 
flict ; but we took no other part in their cause, and we ren- 
dered them no assistance except the strong moral influence ex- 
cited over the world by our well known feelings and opinions 
in their favor. When did we recognize their independence ? 
Not till they had achieved it by thek arms ; not until the con- 
test was over, and victory had perched upon their banners : not 
until the good fight had been fought and won. We then led 
the van in acknowledging their independence. 

" But let us not, by departing from our settled policy, give 
rise to the suspicion that we have got up this war for the pur- 
pose of .wresting Texas from those to whom, under the faith of 
treaties H justly belongs. Since the treaty with Spain of 
1819, there can no longer be any doubt but that this province 
is a part of Mexico. He was sorry for it ; but such was the 
undeniable fact. Let us then follow the course which we had 
pursued under similar circumstances in all other cases." 

Among the bills discussed at this session, was one for the 
relief of the sufferers by the great fire in New York city, on 
the 16th of December, 1835, The generous manner in which 
Mr. Buchanan met this proposition for the relief of a city, the 
rival of the commercial emporium of his own State, deserves to 
be recorded. He brought no narrow-minded jealousy to the 
consideration of the subject. It was enough for him to know 
that prosperous merchants had been suddenly reduced to ruin ; 
that homeless families were suffering the inclemencies of a severe 
winter. The remarks he made upon the occasion referred to 
will ever entitle him to the gratitude of the mercantile classe.« 
of New York city. 

He said, " it had not been his intention to say a single word 



SUFFERERS BY GREAT FIRE IN NEW YORK. IGl 

upon this question. He would not do so now, but Le distinctly 
perceived, that if the friends of the bill yielded to any one of 
the amendments which had been proposed, the bill was lost. 
We must take the bill as it now is, or none. For his own part, 
he took a much more liberal view of the question than some of 
those gentlemen who had addressed the Senate. What was 
the state of the case ? On the 16th of December last a capi- 
tal of between seventeen and eighteen millions of dollars had 
been in one day annihilated by fire, in our greatest commercial 
emporium. Notwithstanding this calamity, not a single failure 
had since taken place among the merchants of that city. He 
would say that he did not believe the history of the commer- 
cial world presented an example of such punctuality and such 
ability to comply with all engagements in the midst of such 
distress. It was highly honorable not only to New York, but 
to the American character. At the time of this destructive 
fire, the merchants of that city were indebted to the United 
States about $3,600,000. And what does this bill, first and 
second sections and all, propose to give ? To give them this 
amount or any part of it ? No, sir ; all that is asked is, thai 
you shall not in the midst of their distress extort this sum 
from them ; which, at this moment, may save them from in- 
solvency and ruin, for the purpose of placing it in an over- 
flowing treasury, where it is not wanted. You are only asked 
to grant these sufl"ering merchants time to pay their money, 
provided they give you ample security that the money shall be 
paid. Is there a single senator who would not most cheerfully 
comply with this request if he did not believe the Constitution 
to be in his way ? Not one. lie certainly should not go into 
the argument of the constitutional question after what had 
been already said. He felt confident that a large majority of 
the Senate were already convinced that the Constitution had 
nothing to do with the question. After the merchant had en- 
tered his goods at the custom house, and given bonds iov the 
payment of the duties, he became a debtor to the government, 



162 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

with whom lie might make any fair and reasonable terms, as 
we may do, and have done with oar debtors. This, he was 
very clearly of opinion, would not be giving any preference by 
any regulation of commerce or revenue to the parts of one 
State over those of another. 

" What is the present position of the mercantile commu- 
nity of New York ? He had observed in the late public 
journals, that money was now worth one, one and a half, 
and two per cent, per month. The pressure was very great. 
The present state of tension could not long endure. Without 
some relief, some speedy relief, it was probable the merchants 
must yield. Let a single failure take place to the amount of 
a million, half a million, or a quarter of a million, and, in its 
consequences it would produce such ruin in New York as would 
be felt to the very extremities of the Union. We might then 
see that the forbearance which the bill proposes to extend to 
the merchants, is the very best bargain for ourselves which we 
can make," 



RELATIONS WITH FRANCE. 163 



CHAPTER XI. 

Twenty-fourth Congress continued — Relations with France — Specie Payments — Ad- 
mission of Michigan and Arliansas. 

Our relations with France, on account of her neglect to com- 
ply with the terms of the treaty of 1831, and pay the iudemnity 
bo long due oar citizens, caused a long and excited discussion 
during the first session of the twenty-fourth Congress. The 
object of the French government in delaying to do what was 
simply an act of justice, had fairly given rise to suspicions in 
regard to her ultimate designs. The king, in his opening speech 
to the Chamber of Deputies, had barely alluded to the subject, 
and his failure to ask for the sum necessary to liquidate our 
claims, whilst at the same time he had called for appropriations 
for other and apparently less important objects, had served to 
still more embarrass the question. The President, in view of all 
the circumstances, and particularly of the necessity of an increase 
of the navy to meet the constantly expanding demands of the 
country, had recommended an augmentation of that arm of our 
defence, and also some improvement of the forts, &c., of our 
maritime frontier. The proposition was opposed by Mr. Clay and 
all the anti-administration party on the floor of the Senate. Mr. 
Buchanan, on the 1st of February, 1836, in a speech of great 
length and extraordinary ability, reviewed the whole question of 
national defence, and the entire range of our difficulties with 
France. Ue gave a complete history of the negotiations between 
our own and the French government, and showed in a most con- 
clusive manner that our citizens had been shamefully used, had 



164 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BtJCHANjLN-. 

been denied for years their just rights without a shadow of ex 
cuse, and that longer acquiescence in such manifest injustice 
would brand us with pusillanimity and even cowardice. "We 
shall give only a portion of this speech, much of which is his- 
torical, but sufficient to show with what ardent patriotism Mr. 
Buchanan has always contended for the interests and honor of 
his country. The following extract embraces the opening 
portion : 

" Mr. President : I am much better pleased with the first 
resolution offered by the senator from Missouri (Mr. Benton) 
since he has modified it upon the suggestion of the senator from 
Tennessee (Mr. Grundy). When individuals have more money 
than they know how to expend, they often squander it foolishly. 
The remark applies, perhaps, with still greater force to nations. 
When our treasury is overflowing. Congress, who are but mere 
trustees for the people, ought to be especially on their guard 
against wasteful expenditures of the public money. The sur- 
plus can be applied to some good and useful purpose. I am 
willing to grant all that may be necessary for the public defence, 
but no more. I am therefore pleased that the resolution has 
assumed its present form. The true question involved in this 
discussion is, on whom ought the responsibility to rest for having 
tidjourned on the 3d of March last, without providing for the 
defence of the country ? There can be no doubt a fearful 
responsibility rests somewhere. For my own part, I should 
have been willing to leave the decision of this question to oui 
constituents. I am a man gf peace, and dislike the crimination, 
and recrimination which this discussion must necessarily pro- 
duce ; but it is in vain to regret what cannot now be avoided. 
The friends of the administration have been attacked, and we 
must now defend ourselves. I deem it necessary, therefore, to 
state the reason why I voted, on the 3d of March last, in favoi 
of the appropriation of three millions for the defence of th( 
country, and why I glory in that vote. The language used hy 



RELATIONS WITH FKANCE. 165 

senators in reference to this appropriation has been very strong. 
It has been denounced as a violation of the Constitution. It 
has been declared to be such a measure as would not have re- 
ceived the support of the minority, had they believed it could 
prevail, and that they would be held responsible for it. It has 
been stigmatized as most unusual — most astonishing — most sur- 
prising. And, finally, to cap the climax, it has been proclaimed 
that the passage of such an appropriation would be virtually to 
create a dictator, and to surrender the power of the purse and 
the sword into the hands of the President. I voted for that 
appropriation under the highest convictions of public duty, and 
I now intend to defend that vote against all these charges. 

" In examining the circumstances which not only justified 
this appropriation, but rendered it absolutely necessary, I am 
forced into the discussion of the French question. We have 
been told, that if we go to war with France, we are the authors 
of that war. The senator from New Jersey has declared that 
it will be produced by the boastful vanity of one man, the 
petulance of another, and the fitful violence of a third. It 
would not be difQcult to conjecture who are the individuals to 
whom the senator alludes. He has also informed us that, in 
the event of such a war, the guilt which must rest somewhere 
will be tremendous. Now, sii', I shall undertake to prove that 
scarcely an example exists in history of a powerful and inde- 
pendent nation having suffered such wrongs and indignities as 
we have done from France with so much patience and forbear- 
ance. If France should now resort to arms — if our defenceless 
seacoast should be plundered — if the blood of our citizens should 
be shed — the responsibility of the Senate, to use the language 
of the gentleman, will be tremendous. I shall not follow the 
example of the senator, and say their guilt, Ix^cause that would 
be to attribute to them an evil intention, which I believe did 
not exist. 

****** 
" The justice of our claims upon France arc now admitted by 



166 LITE AXD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAiJAN. 

all mankiud. Our generosity was equal to their justice. Wlica 
she was crushed to the dust by Europe in arms, when her cities 
were garrisoned by a foreign foe, when her independence was 
trampled under foot, we refused to urge our claiais. This was 
due to our ancient ally. It was due to our grateful remembrance 
of the days of other years. The testimony of Lafayette conclu- 
sively establishes this fact. In the Chamber of Deputies, on the 
13th of June, 1833, he declared that we had refused to unite 
with the enemies of France in urging our claims, in 1814 and 
1815 ; and that, if we had done so, these claims would then 
have been settled. This circumstance will constitute one of 
the brightest pages in our history. 

" Was the sum secured to our injured fellow-citizens by the 
treaty of the 4th of July, 1831, more than they had a right to 
demand ? Let the report of our Committee on Foreign Rela- 
tions, at the last session, answer this question. They concur 
entirely with the President in the statement he had made in his 
message, that it was absolutely certain the indemnity fell far 
short of the actual amount of our just claims, independenily of 
damages and interest for the detention ; and that it was well 
known at the time that in this respect the settlement involved a 
sacrifice. But there is now no longer room for any conjecture 
or doubt upon this subject. The commissioners under the 
treaty have closed their labors. From the very nature of their 
constitution it became the interest of every claimant to reduce 
the other claims as much as possible, so that his own dividend 
might thus be increased. After a laborious and patient investi- 
gation, the claims which have been allowed by'the commission- 
ers amount to $9,352,193 47. Each claimant will receive but 
little more than half his principal, at the end of a quarter of a 
century, after losing all the interest. 

"Why then has this treaty remained without execution on 
the part of France until this day ? Our Committee on Foreign 
Relations, at the last session, declared their conviction that the 
king of France had invariably, on all suitable occasions, mani' 



KELA.TIOX5 -WITH FKANCE. 1G7 

festcd an anxious desire faithfully and honestly to fulfill the 
engai^enient contracted under his authority and his name. They 
say thai ' the opposition to the execution of the treaty and the 
payment of our just claims does not proceed from the king's 
government, but from a majority in the Chamber of Deputies.' 

" Now, sir, it is my purpose to contest this opinion, and to 
show, as I think 1 can conclusively, that it is not a just infer- 
ence from the facts ; and here, to prevent all possible mis- 
construction, either on this side or on the other side of the 
Atlantic (if by any accident my humble remarks should ever 
travel to such a distance), permit me to say that I am solely 
responsible for them myself. These opinions were in a great 
degree formed while I was in a foreign laud, and were there 
freely expressed upon all suitable occasions. I was then beyond 
the sphere of party influence, and felt only as an American citi- 
zen. Is it not then manifest, to use the language of Mr. Liv- 
ingston, in his note to the Count de Rigny, on the 3d of August, 
1834, that the French government have never appreciated the 
importance of the subject at its just value ? There are two 
modes in which the king could have manifested this anxious 
desire faithfully to fulfill the treaty. These are by words and 
by actions. When a man's words and his actions correspond, 
you have the highest evidence of his sincerity. Even then he 
may be a hypocrite in the eyes of that Being before whom the 
fountains of human action are unveiled. But when a man's 
words and his actions arc at variance ; when he promises and 
does not perform, or even attempt to perform ; when ' he speaks 
the word of promise to the ear, and breaks it to the hope,' the 
whole world will at once pronounce him insincere. If this be 
true in the transactions of common life, with how much more 
force does it apply to the intercourse between diplomatists. 
The deceitfulness of diplomacy has become almost a proverb. 
In Europe, the talent of overreaching gives the minister the 
glory of diplomatic skill. The French school has been distin- 
guished in this art. To prove it, I need only mention the name 



168 LITE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

of Talleyrand. The American school teaches far different les- 
sons. On this our success has in a great degree depended. 
The skillful diplomatists of Europe are foiled by the downright 
honesty and directness of purpose which have characterized all 
our negotiations. Even the established forms of diplomacy 
contain much unmeaning language, which is perfectly under- 
stood by everybody, and deceives nobody. If ministers have 
avowed their sincerity and their ardent desire to execute the 
treaty, to deny them on our part would be insulting, and 
might lead to the most unpleasant consequences. In forming 
an estimate of their intentions^ therefore, every wise man will 
regard their actions rather than their words. By their deeds 
shall they be known. Let us then test the French government 
by this touchstone of truth." 

Mr. Buchanan here goes into a detailed account of our rela- 
tions with France, tracing the negotiations between the two 
governments step by step up to the time of the delivery of his 
speech. After he had concluded this portion of his remarks, 
he addressed the Senate in the following strain of indignant 
eloquence : 

" Sir, at the commencement of the session of Congress, It 
became the duty of the President to speak, and what could any 
American expect that he would say ? The treaty had been 
violated in the first instance by the ministers of the French 
king, in neglecting to lay it before the Chambers until after 
the first installment was due. It was then twice submitted at 
so late a period of the session, that it was impossible for the 
Chambers to examine and decide the question before their ad- 
journment. On the last of these occasions, the chairman of 
the committee to which the subject was referred had reported 
a severe reprimand against the government for not having 
sooner presented the bill, and expressed a hope that it might 
be presented at an early period of the next sessioa. It was 



RELATIONS WITH FRANCK. IGO 

then rejected bj the Chamber of Deputies, and, when the 
French <^overnmeiit had solemnly engaged to hasten the presen- 
talica of the rejected law as soon as their Constitution would 
permit, they prorogued the Chambers to the latest period which 
custom sanctions, in the very face of the remonstrances of the 
minister of the United States. I ask again, sir, before such an 
array of circumstances, what could any man, what could any 
American, expect the President would say in his message ? 
The cup of forbearance had been drained by him to the very 
dregs. It was then his duty to speak so as to be heard and to 
be regarded on the other side of the Atlantic. If the same 
spirit which dictated the message, or anything hkc it, had been 
manifested by Congress, the money, m my opinion, would ere 
this have been paid. 

" The question was, then, reduced to a single point. We 
demanded the execution of a solemn treaty ; it had been refused. 
France had promised again to bring the question before the 
Chambers as soon as possible. The Chambers were prorogued 
until the latest day. The President had every reason to be- 
lieve that France was trifling with us, and that the treaty 
would agam be rejected. Is there a senator within the sound 
of my voice who, if France had finally determined not to pay 
the money, would have tamely submitted to this violation of 
national faith ? Not one' 1 

" The late war with Great Britain elevated us in the estima- 
tion of the whole world. In every portion of Europe we have 
reason to be proud that we are American citizens. We have 
paid dearly for the exalted character we now enjoy among the 
nations, and we ought to preserve it, and transmit it unimpair- 
ed to future generations. To them it will be a most precious 
inheritance. 

" If, after having compelled the weaker nations of the world 
to pay us indemnities for captures made from our citizens, we 
Bhould cower before the power of France, and abandon our 
rights against her, when they had been secured by a solemn 

8 



110 LIFE AND SERYICE3 OF JAMES BUCnANAISr. 

treaty, we should be regarded as a mere hector among the 
nations. The same course which you have pur.^ued towards 
the weak, you must pursue towards the powerful. If you do 
not, your name will become a by-word and a proverb. 

" But, under all the provocations which the country had 
received, what is the charcter of that message ? Let it be 
scanned with eagle eyes, and there is nothing in its language at 
which the most fastidious critic can take offence. It contains 
an enumeration of our wrongs, in mild and dignified language, 
and a contingent recommendation of reprisals in case the in- 
demnity should again be rejected by the Chambers. But in 
this, and in all other respects, it defers entirely to the judg- 
ment of Congress, every idea of an intended menace is excluded 
by the President's express declaration. He says, ' such a 
measure ought not to be considered by France as a' menace. 
Her pride and power are too well known to expect anything 
from her fears, and preclude the necessity of the declaration, 
that nothing partaking of the character of intimidation is 
intended by us.' I ask, again, is it not forbearing in its lan- 
guage ? Is there a single statement in it not founded upon 
truth ? Does it even state the whole truth against France ? 
Are there not strong points omitted ?" 

Mr. Buchanan then discusses the questions of national defence, 
its necessity and constitutional bearing, and closes with the 
following brilliant peroration : 

" On the 5th of June, the President had officially sanctioned 
the explanations which had been made to the French govern- 
ment by Mr. Livingston in his letter of the 25th of April, as he 
had previously sanctioned those which had been made by the 
same gentleman in h-> note of the 29th of January. These were 
considered by the President amply sufScient to satisfy the sus- 
ceptible feelings of France. In order to give them full time to 
produce their effect, and to afford the French ministry an ample 



RELATIOXS WITH FRANCE. 171 

opportunity for reflection, he delayed sending any orders to de- 
mand the money secured by the treaty until the middle of 
September. On the 14th of that month, Mr. Barton was in- 
structed to call upon the Duke de Broglie, and request to be 
informed what were the intentions of the French government in 
relation to the payment of the money secured by the treaty, 
lie executed these instructions on the 20th of October. The 
special message has communicated to us the result : ' Wo will 
pay the money,' says the Duke de Broglie, ' when the govern- 
ment of the United States is ready on its part to declare to us, 
by addressing its claim to us officially in writing that it regrets 
the misunderstanding which has arisen between the two coun- 
tries ; that this misunderstanding is founded on a mistake ; that 
it never entered into its intention, to call in question the good 
faith of the French government, nor to take a menacing atti- 
tude towards France ;' and he adds, ' if the government of the 
United States does not give this assurance, we shall be obliged to 
think that this misunderstanding is not the result of an error.' 

" Is there any American so utterly lost to those generous feel- 
ings w^hich love of country should inspire as to purchase five 
millions with the loss of national honor ? Who for these or 
any number of millions, would see the venerable man now at the 
head of our government bowing at the footstool of the throne 
of Louis Philippe, and like a child prepared to say its lesson, 
repeating this degrading apology ? First perish the five mil- 
lions — perish a thousand times the amount. The man whose 
bosom has been so often bared in the defence of his country will 
never submit to such degrading terms. His motto has always 
been death before dishonor. 

" Why, then, it may be asked, have I expressed a hope, a 
belief, that this unfortunate controversy will be amicably ter- 
minated, when the two nations are now directly at issue ? 1 
will tell you why. This has been called a mere question of 
etiquette, and such it is, so far as France is concerned. She 
has already received every explanation which the most jealous 



172 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES, BUCHANAN. 

susceptibility ought to demand. These have been voluntarily 
tendered to her. 

" Since the date of the Duke de Broglie's letter to Mr. Pa- 
geat on the llth of June, we have received from the President 
of the United States his general message at the commencement 
of the session, and his special message on French affairs. 
Both these documents disclaim in the strongest terms, any in- 
tention to menace France or to impute bad faith to the French 
government, by the message of December, 1834. Viewing the 
subject in this light — considering that at the interview with ; 
Mr. Barton, the duke could not have known what would be the 
tone of these documents, I now entertain strong hope that the 
French government have already reconsidered their determina- 
tion. If a mediation has been proposed and accepted, I cannot 
entertain a doubt as to what will be the opinion of the media- 
tor. He ought to say to France, you have already received all 
the explanations, and these have been voluntarily accorded, 
^vliich the United States can make without national degradation. 
With these you ought to be satisfied. With you it is a mere 
question of etiquette. All the disclaimers which you ought to 
desire have already been made by the President of the United 
States. The only question with you now is not one of substance, 
but merely whether these explanations are in proper form. But 
in regard to the United States the question is far different. 
What is with you mere etiquette, is a questiou of" life and death 
to them. Let the President of the United States make the apo- 
logy which you have dictated — let him once admit the right of 
the foreign governments to question his messages to Congress, 
|ind to demand explanations of any language at which they may 
choose to take offence, and our independent existence as a 
government, to that extent, is virtually destroyed. 

" We must remember that France may yield with honor, we 
never can . without disgrace. Will she yield ? That is the 
question. I confess I should have entertained a stronger belief 
that she would, had she not published the duke's letter to Jilr. 



SPECIE PAYMENTS. 173 

Pageat as an aj)pcal to the American people. She must still 
believe that the people of this country are divided in opinion 
in regard to the firm maintenance of their rights. In this slie 
will find herself entirely mistaken. But should Congress, at 
the present session, refuse to sustain the President, by adopting 
measures of defence — should the precedent of the last session 
be followed for the present year, then I should entertain the 
most gloomy forebodings. The Father of his Country has 
informed us that the mode of preserving peace is to be pre- 
pared for war. I firmly beheve, therefore, that a unanimous 
vote of the Senate in favor of the resolutions now before them, 
to follow to Europe the acceptance of the mediation, would, 
almost to a certainty, render it successful. It would be an act 
of the soundest policy, as well as of the highest patriotism. It 
would prove, not that we intend to menace France, because 
such an attempt would be ridiculous, but that the American 
people are unanimous in the assertion of their rights, and have 
resolved to prepare for the worst. A French fleet is now hov- 
ering upon our coasts, and shall we sit still with our overflow- 
ing treasury and leave our country defenceless? This will 
never be said with truth of the American Congress. 

" If war should come (which God forbid I) — if Franco 
should still persist in her effort to degrade the American people 
in the person of their chief magistrate, we may appeal to 
Ucaven for the justice of our cause, and look forward with 
confidence to victory from that Being in whose hands is the 
destiny of nations." 

It is gratifying to know that the decided stand taken by 
Gen. Jackson on French affairs hastened the settlement of this 
troublesome question, and secured to our citizens what had so 
long been their just dues. 

Mr. Buchanan took an early and decided stand in favor of 
specie payments by the general government, instead of depreci- 
able bank paper. Upon this subject he stood side by side with 



1T4 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHAKAN. 

that Ajax of democracy, on the currency question, Mr. Benton. 
" Tb.e evils," said Mr. Buchanan, " which result from a large 
increase of banking capital to the laboring man, to the manu- 
facturer, and to all classes of society except speculators, were 
palpable. Banks could make money plenty at one time and 
scarce at another ; at one moment nominally raise the price of 
all property beyond its real value, and the next moment reduce 
it below that standard, and thus prove most ruinous to the 
best interests of the people. The increase of banking capital 
was calculated to transfer the wealth and property of the 
country from the honest, industrious, and unsuspecting classes 
of society, into the hands of speculators, who knew when to 
purchase and when to sell." Probably no one element has been 
a stronger one in Mr. Buchanan's character than his devoted 
friendship to the laboring classes. Born in the most humble 
circumstances of life, and always residing among a people who 
justly consider idleness disgraceful, it is not surprising that he 
should have been naturally the friend and ally of the producing 
classes. As a proof of this it is only necessary to state that 
every measure introduced into Congress during his loog mem 
bership of that bedy, which was calculated in any way to ben- 
efit them, he advocated ; while every one intended to injure them 
he opposed. 

One of the most prominent subjects before this Congress wag 
the admission of Michigan and Arkansas into the Union. Mr. 
Buchanan was the northern senator chosen to present the bill 
admitting Arkansas, and Mr. Benton was selected to present 
the one admitting Michigan. The subject gave rise to much 
debate, in all of which Mr. Buchanan bore a distinguished and 
honorable part. It was objected to Michigan that foreigners 
or unnati^i-alized citizens had been allowed to vote in the form- 
ation of the Constitution of Michigan. Mr. Buchanan demou' 
strated that aliens who were residents of the Northwest Ter- 
ritory had a right, under the ordinance of 1787, to exercise the 
elective franchise. 



ADMISSION OF MICHIGAN AND AKKANSAS. 1 ( O 

" The territory ceded by Virginia to the United Slates," 
said ^Ir. B., " was suIBcieulIy extensive for an immense empire. 
The parties to this compact of cession contemplated that it 
would form five sovereign States of this Union. At that early 
period, we had just emerged from our revolutionary struggle, 
and none of the jealousy was then felt against foreigners, and 
particularly against Irish foreigners, which now appears to 
haunt some gentlemen. There had then been no attempts to 
get up a Native American party in this country. The blood of 
the gallant Irish had flowed freely upon every battle-field, in 
defence of the liberties which we now enjoy. Besides, the Senate 
will well recollect that the ordinance was passed before the 
adoption of our present Constitution, and whilst the power of 
uaturaiization remained with the several States. In some, and 
perhaps, in all of them, it required so short a residence, and so 
Uttle trouble to be changed from an alien to a citizen, that the 
process could be performed without the least difficulty. I re- 
peat that no jealousy whatever then existed against foreigners." 

In the course of the same speech, Mr, Buchanan used the 
following memorable and emphatic language upon a question, 
which at the present day is a most exciting topic of discussion : 

" The. older I grow, the more I am inclined to he ickat is called 
' a State rights man.' The peace and security of this Union 
depend upon giving to the Constitution a Uteral and fau' con- 
struction, such as would be placed upon it by a plam and intel- 
ligent man, and not by ingenious constructions, to increase 
the powers of this govermnent, and thereby diminish those of 
the States. The rights of the States, reserved to them by that 
instrument, ought ever to be held sacred. If, then, the Con- 
stitution leaves to them to decide according to their own dis- 
cretion, unrestricted and unlimited, who shall be electors, it 
follows as a necessary consequence that they may, if they think 
proper, confer upon resident aUens the right of voting." 



1T6 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN". 

" It is curious to remark," said Mr. Buchanan, in concluding, 
the speech from which the foregoing extracts are taken, " that 
except in a few instances, the Constitution of the United States 
nas not prescribed that the officers elected or appointed under 
its authority, shall be citizens ; and we all know, in practice, 
that the Senate have been constantly in the habit of confirm- 
ing the nomination of foreigners as consuls of the United 
States. They have repeatedly done so, I beUeve, in regard to 
other officers." 

This Congress closed its first session on the 14th of July, 
1836. It had been a protracted and important session, as th» 
reader of this and the preceding chapter will not fail to have 
observed. 



SPECIE CERCITLAE. 177 



CHAPTEK XII. 

Second Session of Twenty-fourth Congress — Specie Circular — Expunging Resolutions- 
Mr. Buchanan's Speech upon them. 

The second session of the twcnty-foui'tli Congress opened on 
the 5th of December, 1836. Mr. Buchanan was chosen to the 
honorable and responsible position of Chairman of the Commit- 
tee of Foreign Relations. Associated with him were Messrs, 
Clay, of Kentucky ; Tallmadge, of New York ; King, of Geor- 
gia, and Eives, of Virginia. The first subject brought before 
the Senate was a resolution offered by Mr. Ewing, of Ohio, to 
rescind an order made by the Secretary of the Treasury, gen- 
erally known as the " specie circular." The object of the order 
was the laudable one to check speculation in pubUc lands, as 
well as the excessive issues of bank paper in the West, and thus 
to increase the specie currency of the country. The aim of the 
President to accomplish these desu'able objects was, however, 
represented like almost everything Gen. Jackson did while in 
office, as an act of executive tyranny, and a wish on his part to 
wield the power of the revenue for his own and his party's 
pohtical advantage. The resolution of Mr. Ewing, after being 
shorn of most of its objectionable features, and modified so as 
to leave the Secretary of the Treasury a discretion in regard to 
the matter upon which he assumed to act, passed the Senate. 

The principal feature of this session was, however, the adop- 
tion of the celebrated "expunging resolution" which Mr. Ben- 
ton introduced to vindicate the name and honor of Gen. Jack- 
eon. With an heroic determination, reminding one of Spartan 



178 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAISrAN. 

valor, the distinguished senator from Missouri had session after 
session introduced a resolution for expunging from the journal 
of the Senate the stain which had been affixed upon Gen. Jack- 
son for his removal of the deposits from the United States Bank. 
No epithet had caused him to waver for a moment in his deter- 
mination, and for three successive years, through evil and good 
report, he had each session presented the resolution ; but 
owing to the majority against the President in the Senate, jus- 
tice had not been granted him. He had now, however, been 
elected the second time, and the people had ratified what the 
minority of the Senate had so long contended for. Once more, 
therefore, did Mr. Benton introduce his long abused resolution. 
" Solitary and alone," said Mr. Benton, " and amidst the jeers 
and taunts of my opponents, I put this ball in motion. The 
people have taken it up and rolled it forward, and I am no 
longer anything but a unit in the vast mass which now propels 
it. In the name of that mass I speak. I demand the execu- 
tion of the edict of the people ; I demand the expurgation of 
that sentence which the voice of a few Senators, and the power 
of their confederate, the Bank of the United States, has caused 
to be placed on the journal of the Senate, and which the voioe 
of millions of freemen has ordered to be expunged from it." 
The persevering and unyielding determination which Mr. Ben- 
ton evinced in rendering this act of justice to Gen. Jackson will 
ever associate his name in the history of our country, side by 
Bide with that of " the hero of New Orleans." 

He was destined at this session to have the efficient and 
earnest aid of Mr. Buchanan, in a speech of such masterly 
power, of rich and graceful eloquence, as has seldom, if ever, 
been delivered upon the floor of the United States Senate. 
The reader is requested to notice in the following speech the 
account of the abuse heaped upon Gen. Jackson for the fearless 
discharge of his duty. It was even greater than that bestowed 
upon Gen. Pierce, at the present day, for the repeal of the 
unconstitutional Missouri restriction : 



BPEECn ON EXPUNGING KESOLUTIONS. 179 

Mr. President : After the able and eloquent display of the 
senator frcm Kentucky (Mr. Clay), who lias just resumed his 
scat after having so long enchained the attention of his audi- 
ence, it might be the dictate of prudence for me to remain 
silent. But I feel too deeply my responsibility as an American 
senator, not to make the attempt to place before the Senate 
and the country the reasons, which, in my opinion, wUl justify 
the vote which I intend to give this day. 

" A more grave and solemn question has rarely, if ever, 
been submitted to the Senate of the United States, than the 
one now under discussion. This Senate is now called upon to 
review its own decision, to rejudge its own justice, and to anni- 
hilate its own sentence, deliberately pronounced against the 
co-ordinate executive branch of this government. On the 28th 
of March, 1834, the American Senate, in the face of the Amer- 
ican people, in the face of the whole world, by a solemn reso- 
lution, pronounced the President of tlfc United States to be a 
violator of the Constitution of his country, of that Constitution 
which he had solemnly sworn, ' to preserve, protect, and defend.' 
"Whether vre consider the exalted character of the tribunal 
which pronounced this condemnation, or the illustrious object 
against which it was directed, we ought to feel deeply impressed 
with the high and lasting importance of the present proceeding. 
It is in fact, if not in form, the trial of the Senate for having 
unjustly and unconstitutionally tried and condemned the Presi- 
dent ; and their accusers are the American people. In this cause 
I am one of the judges. In some respects, it is a painful posi- 
tion for me to occupy. It is vain, however, to express un- 
availing regrets. I must, and shall Pnnly and sternly do my 
duty, although in the performance of it, I may wound the 
feelings of gentlemen whom I respect and ester m ; I shall pro- 
ceed no further than the occasion demands, aud wUl therefore 
justify. 

" Who was the President of the United States against whom 
thL^ sentence has been proiounccd ? Andrew Jackson — a name 



ISO LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAilES BrCHANAN. 

which every American mother, after the party strife *vhich 
agitates us for the present moment shall have passea away 
will, during all the generations which this Republic is destined 
to endure, teach her infant to lisp with that of the venerated 
name of Washington. The one was the founder, the other the 
preserver, of the liberties of his country. 

" If President Jackson has been guilty of violating the Con- 
stitution of the United States, let impartial justice take its 
course. I admit that it is no justification for such a crime, that 
his long life has been more distinguished by acts of disinterested 
patriotism than that of any American citizen now living. It is 
no justification that the honesty of his heart and the purity of 
his intentions have become proverbial, even amongst his political 
enemies. It is no justification that in the hour of danger, and 
in the day of battle, he has been his country's shield. If ne 
has been guilty, let his name be ' damned to everlasting fame ' 
"with those of Caesar and Napoleon. 

" If, on the other hand, he is pure and immaculate from the 
charge, let us be swift to do him justice, and to blot out toe 
foul stigma which the Senate have placed upon his ciiaracter. 
If wo are not, he may go down to the grave in doubt as to what 
may be the final judgment of his country. In any event, he 
must soon retire to the shades of private life. Shall we, then, 
sufi'er his official term to expire without first doing him justice '( 
It may be said of me, as it has already been said of other sena- 
tors, that 1 am one of the gross adulators of the President But, 
sir, I have never said thus much of him whilst he was in the 
meridian of his power. Now, that his political sun is nearly 
set, I feel myself at liberty to pour forth my grateful feelings as an 
American citizen, to a man who has done so much for his 
country. I have never for myself, either directly or indirectly, 
solicited office a( his hand ; aud my character must greatly 
change if I should ^'ver do so from anj of his successors If I 
should bestow upon him the meed of my poor praise, it springs 
from an impulse far difi'erent from that which has been attri- 



SPEECH ON EXPUNGIIhG RESOLUTIONS. 181 

buted to the majority on this floor. I speak as an independent 
freeman and American senator, and I feel prond now to have 
the opportunity of raising my voice in his defence. 

" On the 28th day of March, 1834, the Senate of the United 
States resolved ' that the President, in the late executive pro- 
ceedings in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon 
himself autliority and power not conferred by the Constitution 
and laws, but in derogation of both.' 

" In discussing this subject, I shall undertake to prove, first, 
that this resolution is unjust ; secondly, that it is unconstitu- 
tional ; and in the last place, that it ought to be expunged from 
our journals, in the manner proposed by the senator from Mis- 
souri (Mr. Benton). First, then, it is unjust. On this branch 
of the subject, I had intended to confine myself to a bare ex- 
pression of my own decided opinion. This point has been so 
often and so ably discussed that it is impossible for me to cast 
any new light upon it. But as it is my intention to follow the 
footsteps of the senator from Kentucky (Mr. Clay) wherever 
they may lead, I must again tread the ground which has been 
so often trodden. As the senator, however, has confined him- 
self to a mere passing reference to the topics which this head 
presents, I shall, in this particular, follow his example. 

" Although the resolution condemning the President is vague 
and general in its terms, yet we all know that it was founded 
upon his removal of public deposits from the bank of the United 
States. The senator from Kentucky has contended that this 
act was a violation of law. And why ? Because, says he, it 
is well known that the pubhc money was secure m that institu- 
tion ; and by its charter the public deposits could not be re- 
moved from it, unless under a just apprehension that they were 
in danger. Now, sir, I admit tliat if the President had no right 
to remove these deposits, except for the sole reason that their 
safety was in danger, the senator has established his position. 
But what is the fact ? Was the government thus restricted by 
the terms of the bank charter ? I answer, no. Such a liraita' 



183 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAKAN. 

tiou is nowhere to be found in it. Let me read tlie sixteenth 
section, which is the only one relating to the subject. It enacts 
' that the deposits of the money of the United States, in places 
in which the said bank and branches thereof may be established, 
shall be made in said bank or branches thereof, unless tho 
Secretary of the Treasury shall at any time otherwise order and 
direct, in which case, the Secretary of the Treasury shall imme- 
diately lay before Congress, if in session, and if not, immediately 
after the commencement of the next session, the reasons of such 
order or direction. 

" Is not the authoi'ity thus conferred upon the Secretary of 
the Treasury as broad and as ample as the English language 
will admit ? Where is the limitation, where the restriction ? 
One might have supposed, from the argument of the senator from 
Kentucky, that the charter had restricted the Secretary of the 
Treasury from removing the deposits, unless he beUeved them to 
be insecure in the Bank of the United States ; but the language 
of the law itself completely refutes his argument. They were to 
remain in the Bank of the United States, ' unless the Secretary 
of the Treasury shall at any time otherwise order and direct.' 

"The whole limitation upon the discretion of that officer, was 
his immediate and direct responsibility to Congress. To us he 
was bound to render his reasons for removing the deposits. 
We, and we alone, are constituted the judges as to the suffi- 
ciency of these reasons. 

" It would be an easy task to prove that the authors of the 
bank charter acted wisely in not limiting the discretion of the 
Secretary of the Treasury over the deposits to the single case 
of their apprehended insecurity. We may imagine many other 
reasons which would have rendered their removal both wise and 
expedient. But I forbear, especially as the case now before 
the Senate presents as striking an illustration of this proposi- 
tion as I could possibly imagine. Upon what prmciple, then, 
do I justify the removal of the deposits ? 

" The Bank of the United States had determined to apply for 



SPEECH ON EXPUNGING KESOIX'TIONS. 183 

a rc-cLartcr at the session of Congress immediately preceding 
the last presidential election. Preparatory to this application, 
and whilst it was pending:, in the short space of sixteen months, 
it had increased its loans more than $28,000,000. They rose 
from forty-two millions to seventy millions between the last of 
December, 1830, and the 1st of May, 1832. Whilst this 
boasted regulator of the currency was thus expanding its dis- 
counts, all the local banks followed the example. The impulse 
of self-interest urged them to pursue this course. A delusive 
property was thus spread over the land. Money everywhere 
became plenty. The bank was regarded as the beneficent 
parent, who was pouring her money out into the laps of her 
children. She thought herself wise and provident in thus 
rendering herself po})ular. The re-charter passed both houses 
of Congress by triumphant majorities. But then came ' the 
frost, the killing frost.' It was not so easy to propitiate the 
' Old Roman.' Although he well knew the powder and influence 
which the bank could exert against liun at the then approach- 
ing presidential election, he cast such considerations to the 
winds. lie vetoed the bill, and in the most solemn manner, 
placed himself for trial upon this question before the American 
people. 

" From that moment, the faith of many of his former friends 
began to grow cold. The bank openly took the field against 
his re-election. It expended large sums in subsidizing editors, and 
in circulating pamphlets, and papers, and speeches, throughout 
the Union, calculated to influence the public mind against the 
President. I merely glance at these things. 

" Let us pause for a single moment, to consider the cons© 
quences of such conduct. What right had the bank, as a 
corporation, to enter the arena of politics for the purpose of 
defending itself, and attacking the President ? Whilst I freely 
admit that each individual stockholder possessed the same rights, 
in this respect, as every other American citizen, I pray you to 
consider what a dangerous precedent the bank has thus estab- 



184 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

lished. Our banks now number nearly a thousand, and our 
other chartered institutions are almost innumerable. If all 
these corporations are to be justified in using their corporate 
funds for the purpose of influencing elections, of elevating their 
political friends, and crushing their political foes, our condition 
is truly deplorable. We shall thus introduce into the Stat3 a 
new, a dangerous, and an alarming power, the effects of which 
no man can anticipate. Watchful jealousy is the pjice 
which a free people must ever pay for their liberties, and this 
jealousy should be argus-cyed in watching the pohtical move- 
ments of corporations. 

" After the bank had been defeated in the presidential elec- 
tion, it adopted a new course of policy. What it had been 
unable to accomplish by making money plenty, it determiued it 
would wrest from the sufferings of the people by making money 
scarce. Pressure and panic then became its weapons, and with 
these it was determined, if possible, to extort a re-charter from 
the American people. It commenced this warfare upon the 
interests of the country about the 1st of August, 1833. In 
two short months it decreased its loans more than four n^iUions 
of dollars, whilst the deposits of the government with it had 
increased, during the same period, two millions and a v-juarter. 
I speak in round numbers. It was then in the act of reducing 
its discounts at the rate of two miUions of dollars per month. 

" The State banks had expanded their loans with the former 
expansion of the Bank of the United states. It now became 
necessary to contract them. The severest pressure began to 
be felt everywhere. Had the Bank of the United States been 
permitted a short time longer to proceed in this course, fortified 
as it was with the millions of the government which it held on 
deposits, a scene of almost universal bankruptcy and insolvency 
must have been presented in our commercial cities. It thus 
became absolutely necessary for the President either to deprive 
the bank of the public deposits, as the only means of protecting 
the State banks, and, through them, the people from these 



SPEECH ON EXPUNGING RESOLUTIONS. 185 

irapentlinp; evils, or calmly to look on aud see it spreading ruin 
throughout the land. It was necessary for him to adopt this 
policy for the purpose of preventing a universal derangement 
of tlie currency, a general sacrifice of property, and, as an 
inevitable consequence, the re-charter of this institution. 

" By the removal of the deposits, he struck a blow against 
the bank from which it has never since recovered. This was 
the club of Hercules with which he slew the Hydra. This was 
the master-stroke by which he prostrated what a large majority 
of the American people believed to have been a corrupt and a 
corrupting institution. For this he is not only justified, but 
deserves the eternal gratitude of his country. For this the 
Senate have condemned him ; but the people of the United 
States have hailed him as a deliverer. 

" It has been said by the senator from Kentucky, that the 
President, by removing the deposits from the Bank of the 
United States, united in his own person the power of the purse 
of the nation with that of the sword. I think it is not difficult 
to answer this argument. What was to become of the pubUc 
money in case it had been removed from the Bank of the 
United States, under its charter, for the cause which the sena- 
tor himself deems justifiable ? Why, sir, it would then have 
been immediately remitted to the guardianship of those laws 
under which it had been protected, before the Bank of the 
United States was called into existence. Such was the present 
case. In regard to this point, no matter whether the cause of 
removal were sufficient or not, the moment the deposits were 
actually removed, they became subject to the pre-existing 
laws, and not to the arbitrary will of the President. 

" The senator from Kentucky has contended that the Presi- 
dent violated the Constitution and the laws by dismissing Mr. 
Duane from office because he would not remove the deposits, 
and by appointing Mr. Taney to accomplish this purpose. I 
shall not discuss at any length the power of removal. It is now 
too lute in the day to question it. That the executive possessei 



186 LITE AND SEEVICES OF JAMES BUCHAKAN. 

this power was decided by the first Congress. It has often since 
been discussed and decided in the same manner, and it has been 
exercised by every President of the United States. The Pre- 
sident is bound by the Constitution to ' take care that the laws 
be faithfully executed.' If he cannot remove his executive offi- 
cers, it is impossible that he can perform this duty. Every in- 
ferior officer might set up for himself, might violate the laws of 
the country, and jiut him at defiance whilst he would remain 
perfectly powerless. He could not arrest their career. A for- 
eign minister might be betraying and disgracing the nation 
abroad, without any power to recall him until the next meeting 
of the Senate. This construction of the Constitution involves 
so many dangers, and so many absurdities, that it could not be 
maintained for a moment, even if there had not been a constant 
practice against it of almost half a century. 

" But it is contended by the senator that the Secretary of 
the Treasury is a sort of independent power in the State, and 
is released from the control of the executive. And why ? Sim- 
ply because he is directed by law to make his annual report to 
Congress, and not to the President. If this position be correct, 
then it necessarily follows that the executive is released from 
the obligation of taking care that the numerous and important 
acts of Congress regulating the fiscal concerns of the country 
shall be faithfully executed. The Secretary of the Treasury is 
thus made independent of his control. What would be the po- 
sition of this officer under such a construction of the Constitu- 
tion and laws, it would be very difficult to decide. And this 
wonderful transformation of his character has arisen from the 
mere circumstance that Congress have by law directed him to 
make an annual report to them ! No, sir, the executive is respon- 
sible to Congress for the faithful execution of the laws ; and if the 
present or any other President should prove faith less to his high 
trust, the present senate, notwithstanding all which has been said, 
would be as ready as their predecessors to inflict condign punish- 
ment upon him, in the mode pointed out by the Constitution. 



SPEECH ON EXPUNGING RESOLUTIONS. 187 

" I b'lve now arrived at the great qnestion of the constitn- 
tioiial power of the Senate to adopt the resohitioii of Maren, 
1834. It is my firm conviction that the Senate possesses no 
such power ; and it is now my purpose to estabhsh this position. 
Tlie decision on this point must depend upon a true answer to 
the question, does this rcsohition contain aiiy impeachable 
charge against the President ? If it does, I trust I shall de- 
monstrate that the Senate violated its constitutional duty in 
proceediug to condemn him in this manner. I shall again read 
the resolution : 

" ' Resolved, That the President in the late executive proceed- 
ings, in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon him- 
self authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and 
laws, but in derogation of both.' 

" This language is brief and comprehensive. It comes at 
once to the point. It bears a striking impress of the character 
of the senator from Kentucky. Does it charge an impeachable 
offence against the President ? 

" The fourth section of the second article of the Constitution 
declares, ' that the President, Vice President, and all civil offi- 
cers of the United States, shall be removed from office on im- 
peachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes or misdemeanors.' 

" It has been contended that this condemnatory resolution 
contains no impeachable offence, because it charges no criminal 
intention against the President ; and I admit that it does not 
attribute to him any corrupt motive in express words. Is this 
sufficient to convince the judgment of any impartial man that 
none such was intended ? Let us, for a few moments, examine 
this proposition. If it be well founded, the Senate may forever 
hereafter usurp the power of trying, condemning, and destroy- 
ing any officer of the government, without affording him tin- 
slightest opportunity of being heard in his defence. They i;iav 
thus abuse their power, and prostrate any object of their ^eit. 
p;eance. It seems we have now made the discovery tha', the 



188 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Senate are authorized to exert this tremendous power ; thai 
they may thus assume to themselves the office both of accuser 
and of judge, provided the indictment contains no express alle- 
gation of a criminal intention. The President, or any officer of 
the government, may be denounced by the Senate as a violator 
of the Constitution of his country, as derelict in the performance 
of his pubhc duties, provided there be no express imputation 
of an improper motive. The characters of men whose reputa- 
tion is dearer to them than their Uves may thus be destroyed 
They may be held up to pubUc execration by the omission of a 
few formal words. The condemnation of the Senate carries 
with it such a moral power, that perhaps there is no man in the. 
United States, except Andrew Jackson, who could have resisted 
its force. No, sir ; such an argument can never command co2 
viction. That which we have no power to do directly, we caa 
never accomplish by indirect means. We cannot by resolution 
convict a man of an impeachable offence, merely because we 
may omit the formal words of an impeachment. We cannot 
regard the substance of things and not the mere form. 

" But again, although a criminal intention be not charged 
in so many words by this resolution, yet its language, even 
without the attending circumstances, clearly conveys this mean- 
ing. The President is charged with having ' assumed upon him- 
self authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and 
laws, but in derogation of both.' ' Assumed upon himself 1' 
What is the plain, palpable meaning of this phrase, connected 
with what precedes and follows ? Is it not ' to arrogate,' to 
' claim or seize unjustly V These are two of the first meanings 
of the word assume, according to the lexicographers. To as- 
sume upon one's self is a mode of expression which is rarely 
taken in a good sense. As it is used here, I ask if any man of 
plain, common understanding, after reading this resolution, 
would ever arrive at the conclusion that any senator voted foi 
it under the impression that the President was innocent of any 
improper intention, and that he violated the Constitution from 



SPEECn ON EXrUNGING liESOLUTIO^'S. 189 

more mistake, and from pare motives ? Tlie common sense of 
mankind revolts at tlie idea. How can it be contended for a 
single moment, that you can denounce the President as a man 
who had 'assumed upon himself the power of violating tho 
laws and the Constitution of his country, and in the same 
breath declare that you had not the least intention to criminate 
him, and that your language was altogether inoffensive. The 
two propositions are manifestly inconsistent. 

"But I go one step further. If we were sitting as a court of 
impeachment, and the bare proposition were established to 
our satisfaction, that the President had, in violation of the 
Conslitution and laws, withdrawn the public revenue of tue 
country from the depositary to whose charge Congress had 
committed it, and assumed the control over it himself, we would 
be bound to convict him of a high official misdemeanor. Under 
such circumstances, we should be bound to infer a criminal in- 
vention from this illegal and unconstitutional act. Criminal 
jastice could never be administered, society could not exist if 
the tribunals of the country should not attribute evil motives 
to illegal and unconstitutional conduct. Omniscience alone can 
expmine the heart. When poor, frail man is placed in the 
judgment seat, he must infer the intention of the accused from 
his actions. That ' the tree is known by its fruits,' is an axiom 
which we have derived from the fountain of all truth. Does a 
poor, naked, hungry w^retch, at this inclement season of the 
year, take from my pocket a single dollar, the law infers a 
criminal intent, and he must be convicted and punished as a 
thief, though he may have been actuated by no other motive 
than that of saving his wife and children from starvation. 
And shall a different rule be applied to the President of the 
United States? Shall it be said of a man elevated to the 
highest station on earth, for his wisdom, his integrity, and his 
virtues, with all his constitutional advisers around him, when 
he violates the Constitution of his country and usurps the con- 
trol over its entire revenue, that he may successfully defend 



190 LIFE AXD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCnAJTAN. 

himself by declaring that he had done this deed without any 
criminal intention? No, sir ; in such a case, above all others, 
the criminal intention must be inferred from the unconstitu- 
tional exercise of high and dangerous powers. The safety of 
the Republic demands that the President of the United States 
should never shelter himself behind such flimsy pi etexts. This 
resolution, therefore, although it may not have assumed the 
form of an article of impeachment, possesses all the substance. 

"It was my fate some years ago to have assisted as a mana- 
ger, in behalf of the House of Representatives, in the trial 
of an impeachment before this body. It then became my duty 
to examine all the precedents in such cases which had occurred 
under our government since the adoption of the Federal Consti- 
tution. On that occasion I found one which has a strong bear- 
ing upon this question. I refer to the case of Judge Pickering. 
He was tried and condemned by the Senate upon all the four 
articles exhibited against him, although the three first con- 
tained no other charge than that of making decisions contrary 
to law, in a cause involving a mere question of property, and 
then refusing to grant the party injured an appeal from his 
decision, to which he was entitled. From the clear violation 
of the law in this case, the Senate must have inferred an im- 
pure and improper motive. 

" If anything fm-ther were wanting to prove that the resolu- 
tion of the Senate contained a criminal and impeachable charge 
against the President, it might be demonstrated from all the 
circumstances attending the transaction. Whilst this resolu- 
tion was in progress through the Senate, the Bank of the United 
States was employed in producing panic throughout the land. 
Much actual suffering was experienced by the people, and, 
where that did not exist, they dreaded unknown and awful 
calamities. Confidence between man and man was at an end. 
There was a fearful pause in the business of tlie countiy. "We 
were then engaged in the most violent party conflict recorded 
in our annals. To use the language of the senator from Ken- 



SPEECH ON KXrUNGING RESOLUTIONS. 191 

tucky, we were in the midst of a revolution. Oa the one side 
it was couteuded that the power over tlie purse of tlie nation 
had been usurped by the President ; tliat in his own person he 
liad united this power with that of the sword, and that the 
hberties of the people were gone, unless he could be arrested in 
his mad career. On the other hand, the friends of the Presi- 
dent maintained that the removal of the deposits from the 
Bank of the United States was an act of stern justice to the 
people, that it was strictly legal and constitutional, that he was 
impelled to it by the highest and purest principles of patriotism, 
and that it was the only means of prostrating an institution 
which threatened the destruction of our dearest rights and 
liberties. During this terrific conflict public indignation was 
aroused to such a degree, that the President received a great 
number of anonymous letters threatening him with assassination, 
unless he should restore the deposits. 

" It was during the pending of this conflict throughout the 
country, that the senator from Kentucky thought proper, on 
the 26th of December, 1832, to present his condemnatory reso- 
lution to the Senate, and here, sir, permit me to say, that I do 
not believe there was any corrujjt connection between any 
senator upon this floor and the Bank of the United States. 
But it was at this inauspicious moment that the resolution was 
introduced. Uow was it supported by the senator from Ken- 
tucky ? He told us that a revolution had already commenced. 
He told us, that by the 3d of March, 1837, if the progress of 
innovation should continue, there would be scarcely a vestige 
remaining of the government and policy, as they had existed 
prior to the 3d of March, 1829. That in a term of years, a 
little more than that which was required to establish our liber- 
ties, the government would be transformed into an elective 
monarchy — the worst of all forms of government. He com- 
pared the measure adopted by General Jackson with the con- 
duct of the usurping Caesar, who, after he had overrun Italy in 
»ixty days, and conquered the liberties of his native country, 



192 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN.. 

terrified the tribune, Metellus, who guarded the treasury of the 
Eomau people, and seized it by open force. He declared that 
the President had perpretrated an open, palpable, and daring 
usurpation. He concluded by asserting that the premonitory 
symptoms of despotism were upon us, and if Congress did not 
apply an instantaneous and effectual remedy, the fatal collapse 
would soon come on, and we should die — ignobly die — base, 
mean, and abject slaves, the scorn and contempt of mankind, 
unpitied, unwept, and unmourned. What a spectacle was then 
presented in this chamber ! We are told, in the reports of the 
day, that when he took his seat, there was repeated and loud 
applause in the galleries. This, it will be remembered, was the 
introductory speech of the senator. In my opinion, it was one 
of the ablest and most eloquent of all his able and eloquent 
speeches. He was then riding upon the whirlwind and direct- 
ing the storm. At the time I read it, for I was not then in 
the Senate, it reminded me of the able, the vindictive, and the 
eloquent appeal A Mr. Burke before the House of Lords, on 
the impeachment of Warren Hastings, in which he denounced 
that Governor-General as the ravager and oppressor of India, 
and the scourge of the millions placed under his authority. 

" And yet, we are now told that this resolution did not in- 
tend to impute any criminal motive to the President ; that he 
was a good old man, though not a good constitutional lawyer, 
and that he knew better how to wield the sword than to con- 
strue the Constitution." 

Mr. Clay here rose to explain. He said, " I never have 
said, and never will say, that personally I" acquitted the Presi- 
dent of any improper intention. I lament that I cannot say it. 
But what I did say was, that the act of the Senate of 1834 is 
free from the imputation of any criminal motives." 

"Sir (said Mr. B.), this avowal is in character with the 
frank and manly nature of the senator from Kentucky. It is 
no more than what I expected from him. The imputation of 
any improper motive to the President has been again and again 



SPEKCn ON EXPUNOIXO RESOLUTIONB. 193 

disclaimed by other Rcnators upon tliis floor. The senator 
from Kentucky has now boldly conic out in his true colors, and 
avows the principles which he held at the time. He acknow- 
ledges that he did not acquit the President from improper inten- 
tions, when charging him with a violation of the Constitution of 
his country. 

" This trial of the President before the Senate, continued for 
three months. During this whole period, instead of the evi- 
dence which a judicial tribunal ought to receive, exciting me- 
morials, signed by vast numbers of the people, and well calcula- 
ted to inflame the passions of his judges, were poured in upon 
tlie Seuate. He was denounced upon this floor by every odious 
epitliet which belongs to tyrants. Finally, the obnoxious reso- 
lution was adopted by a vote of the Senate, on the 28 th day of 
March, 1834. 

" After the exposition which I have made, can any impartial 
mind doubt but that this resolution intended to charge against 
the President a willful and daring violation of the Constitution 
and the laws ? I think not. 

" The senator from Kentucky has argued, with his usual 
power, that the functions of the Senate, acting in a legislative 
capacity, are not to be restricted, because it is possible that the 
same question in another form, may come before us judicially. 
I concur in the truth and justice of this position. We must 
perform our legislative duties ; and if, in the investigation of 
facts, having legislation distinctly in view, we should incident- 
ally be led to the investigation of criminal charges, it is a ne- 
cessity imposed upon us by our condition, from which we can- 
not escape. It results from the varying nature of our duties, 
and not from our own will. I admit that it would be difEcult 
to mark the precise line which separates our legislative from 
our judicial functions. I shall not attempt it. In many cases, 
from necessity, they are in some degree intermingled. The pre- 
Bcut resolution, however, stands far in advance of this line. It 
is placed in bold relief, and is clear of all such difficulties. It 

9 



194 LITE A^^D SEETICES OF JA3iES BUCnAXAN, 

is a mere marked resolution of censure. It refers solely to the 
past conduct of the President, and condemns it in the strongest 
terms, without even proposing any act of legislation by -which 
the evil may be remedied hereafter. It was judgment upo'i the 
past alone ; not prevention for the future. Nay more, the 
resolution is so vague and general in its terms, that it is impos- 
sible to ascertain from its face the cause of the President's con 
dcranation. The Senate have resolved that the executive ' has 
assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the 
Constitution and laws, but in derogation of both.' What is the 
specification under this charge ? Why, that he has acted thus, 
• in the late executive proceedings in relation to the pubhc rev- 
enue.' What executive proceedings ? The resolution leaves 
us entu-ely in the dark upon this subject. How could any legis- 
lation spring from such a resolution ? It is impossible. Nono 
such was ever attempted. 

" If the resolution had preserved its original phraseology, if 
it had condemned the President for dismissing one Secretary of 
the Treasury because he would net remove the deposits, and 
for appointing his successor to effect this purpose, the senator 
might then have contended that the evil was distinctly pointed 
out ; and although no legislation was proposed, the remedy 
might be applied hereafter. But he has deprived himself even of 
this feeble argument. He has left us upon an ocean of uncer- 
tainty, without a chart or compass. ' The late executive pro- 
ceedings in relation to the revenue,' is a phrase of the most 
general and indefinite character. Every senator who voted in 
favor of this resolution may have acted upon different principles. 
To procure its passage, nothing more was necessary than that 
a majority should unite in the conclusion that the President 
had violated the Constitution and the laws in some one or 
other of his numerous acts in relation to the public revenue. 
The views of the senators constituting the majority may have 
varied from each other to any conceivable extent ; and yet 
they may have united in the final vote. That this was the fact 



SPEECH OX EXPUNGIXO RESOLUTIONS. 195 

to a considerable extent I have always understood. It is utterly 
impossible either that such a proceeding could ever have been 
intended to become the basis of legislation, or that legislative 
action could have ever sprung from such a source. 

" I flatter myself, then, I have succeeded in proving that this 
resolution charged the President with a high official misdemean- 
or, wholly disconnected from legislation, which, if true, ought 
to have subjected him to impeachment. This brings me direct- 
ly to the question, had the Senate any power under the Consti- 
tution, to adopt such a resolution ? In other words, can the 
Senate condemn a public officer, by a simple resolution for an 
offence which would subject him to an impeachment ? To state 
the proposition, is to answer this question iu the negative. 
Dreadful would be the consequences, if we possess and should 
exercise such a power. 

" This body is invested with high and responsible powers, of 
a legislative, an executive, and a judicial charcter. No person 
can enter it until he has attained a mature age. Our term of 
service is longer than that of any other elective functionary. 
If senators will have it so, it is the most aristocratic branch of 
our government. For what purpose did the framers of the 
Constitution confer upon it those varied and important powers, 
and this long tenure of office ? The answer is plain. It was 
placed in this secure and elevated position, that it might be 
above the storms of faction which so often hiflame the passions 
of men. It never was intended to be an arena for political 
gladiators. Until the second session of the third Congress, the 
Senate always sat with closed doors, except in the single 
instance when the eligibility of Mr. Gallatin to a scat in the 
body was the subject under discussion. Of this particular 
practice, however, I cannot approve. I merely state it to show 
the intention of those who formed the Constitution. I was 
informed by one of the most eminent statesmen and senators 
which this country has ever produced, now no more (the late 
Mr. King), that for some years after the federal government. 



196 LIFE AND SERYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

comiaenced its operation, the debates of the Senate resembled 
conversations rather than speeches, and that it originated but 
few legislative measures. Senators -were then critics rather 
than authors in legislation. Whether its gain in eloquence 
since it has become a popular assembly, and since the sound of 
thundering applause has been heard m our galleries at the 
denunciation of the President, has been an equivalent for its 
loss in true dignity, may well be doubted. To give this body 
its just influence with the people, it ought to preserve itself aa 
free as possible from angry political discussions. In the per- 
formance of our executive duties — ^in the notification of treaties 
and in the confirmation of nominations — the Constitution has 
connected us with the executive. The efficient and successful 
administration of the government, therefore, requires that we 
should move on together in as much harmony as may be 
consistent with the independent exercise of our respective 
functions. 

" But, above all, we should be the most cautions in guarding 
our judicial character from suspicion. We constitute the high 
court of impeachment of this nation, before which every officer 
of the government may be arraigned. To this tribunal is com- 
mitted the character of men, whose character is far dearer to 
tliem than their lives. We should be the rock standing in the 
midst of the ocean for the purpose of affording a shelter to the 
faithful officer from unjust persecution, against which the billows 
might dash themselves in vain. Whilst we are a terror to evil- 
doers, we should be a praise to those who do well. We should 
never voluntarily perform any act which might prejudice our 
judgment, or render us suspected as a judicial tribunal. More 
especially when the President of the United States is arraigned 
at the bar of public opinion, for offences which might subject 
him to an impeachment, we should remain not only chaste but 
unsuspected. Better, infinitely better, would it be for us not 
to manifest our feeling, even in a case in which we were 
morally certain the House of Representatives would not prefer 



SPEKCn ON EXrCNGINO KESOLrTIONS. 197 

before us articles of impcaclimcnt, than to reach the object of 
our disapprobation by a usurpation of their rights. It is true 
that when the Senate passed the resolution condemning the 
President, a majority in the House were of a different opinion. 
But the next elections might have changed that majority into a 
minority. The Ilouse might then have voted articles of impeach- 
ment against the President. Under such circumstances I pray 
you to consider in what a condition the Senate would have been 
placed. They had already pre-judged the case. They had 
already convicted the President, and denounced him to the 
world as a violator of the Constitution. In crimuial prosecu- 
tions, even against the greatest malefactor, if a juror has pre- 
jndged the cause, he cannot enter the jury-box. The Senate 
had rendered itself wholly incompetent in this case, to perform 
its highest judicial functions. The trial of the President, had 
articles of impeachment been prefen'ed against him, would have 
been but a solemn mockery of justice. 

"The Constitution of the United States has carefully pro- 
vided against such an enormous evil, by declaring that ' the 
Ilouse of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeach- 
ment,' and ' the Senate shall have the sole power to try all 
impeachments.' Until the accused is brought before us by the 
Ilouse. it is a manifest violation of our solemn duty to condemn 
him by a resolution. 

" If a court of criminal jurisdiction, without any indictment 
having been found by a grand jury, without having given the 
defendant notice to appear, without having afforded him an oppor- 
tunity of cross-examining the witnesses against hira, anfl making 
his defence, should resolve that he was guilty of a high crime, 
and place his conviction upon their records, all mankind would 
exclaim against the injustice and unconstitutionality of the act. 
Wherein consists the difference between this case and the con- 
demnation of the President ? In nothing, except that such a 
conviction by the Senate, on account of its exalted character, 
would fall with tenfold force upon its object. I have often been 



198 LIFE A2vD SEETICES OF JA^iIES BUCHANAN. 

astonished, notwithstanding the extended and well-deserved 
popularity of General Jackson, that the moral influence of this 
condemnation by the Senate had not crushed him. With what 
tremendous effect might this assumed power of the Senate be 
used to blast the reputation of any man who might fall under 
its displeasure. The i^recedent is extremely dangerous, and the 
American people have wisely determined to blot it out for- 
ever. 

" It is painful to reflect what might have been the condition 
of the country, if at the inauspicious moment of the passage of 
the resolution against the President, its interests and its honor 
had rendered it necessary to engage in a foreign war. The 
fearful consequences of such a condition, at such a moment, 
must strike every mind. Would the Senate then have confided 
to the President the necessary power to defend the country ? 
Where could the sinews of war have been found ? In what 
condition was this body at that moment to act upon an impor- 
iant treaty negotiated by the President, or upon any of his 
nominations ? But I forbear to enlarge upon this topic. 

" I have now arrived at the last point in this discussion. Do 
the Senate possess the power, under the Constitution, of 
expunging the resolution of March, 1834, from their journals. 
In the manner proposed by the senator from Missouri (Mr. 
Benton) ? I cheerfully admit that we must show that this is 
not contrary to the Constitution ; for we can never redress one 
violation of that instrument by committing another. Before I 
proceed to this branch of the subject, I shall put myself right 
by a hving historical reminiscence. I entered the Senate in 
December, 1834, fresh from the ranks of the people, without 
the slightest feeling of hostility against any senator on this floor. 
I then thought that the resolution of the senator from Missouri 
was too severe in proposing to expunge. Although I was 
anxious to record, in strong terms, my enth-e disapprobation of 
tlie resolution of March, 1834, yet I was wilUng to accomplish 
this object without doing more violence to the feelings of my 



SrEECir ON EXPUNGIXG RESOLUTIONS. 199 

associates on this floor than was absolutely necessary to justify 
the President. Actuated by these friendly motives, I exerted 
all ray I'.ttle influence with the senator from Missouri, to induce 
him to abandon the word expunge, and substitute some others 
in its place. I knew that tliis word was exceedingly obnoxious 
to the senators who had voted for the former resolution. 
Other friends of his also exerted their influence, and at length 
Ills kindly feelings prevailed, and he consented to abandon that 
word, although it was peculiarly dear to him. 1 speak from 
ray own knowledge, ' All which I saw, and part of which I 
was.' 

" The resolution of the senator from Missouri came before 
the Senate on tli,e 3d of i[arch, 1835. Under it the resolution 
of March, 1834, was ' ordered to be expunged from the journal,' 
for reasons appearing on its face, which I need not enumerate. 
The senator from Tennessee (Mr. White), moved to amend 
the resolution of the senator from Missouri, by striking out the 
order to expunge, with the reasons for it, and inserting in their 
stead the words ' rescinded, reversed, I'epealed, and declared to 
be null and void.' Some difference of opmion then arose 
among the friends of the administration as to the words which 
should be substituted in place of the order to expunge. For 
the purpose of leaving this question perfectly open, you, sir 
(Mr. King, of Alabama, was in the chair), then moved to 
ftmend the original motion of Mr. Benton by striking out the 
words ' ordered to be expunged from the journal of the Senate.' 
This motion prevailed on the ayes and noes by a vote of thirty- 
nine to seven, and amongst the ayes the name of the senator 
from Missouri is recorded. The resolution was thus left a 
blank in its most essential feature, ready to be filled up as the 
Senate might direct. The era of good feeling in regard to the 
subject had commenced. It was nipped in *he bud, however, 
by the senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Webster). Whilst 
the resolution was still in blank, he rose in his place, and pro- 
claimed the triumph of the Constitution by the vote to strike out 



200 LIFE AJsD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

the word expunge, and then moved to lay the resolution on the 
table, declaring that he would neither withdraw his motion for 
friend nor foe. This motion precluded all amendment and all 
debate. It prevailed bv a party vote ; and thus we were left 
with our resolution a blank. Such was the manner in which the 
senators in opposition received our advances of courtesy and 
kindness, in the moment of their strength and our weakness. 
Had the senator from Massachusetts suifered us to proceed but 
for five minutes, we should have filled up the blank in the reso- 
lution. It would then have assumed a distinct form, and they 
would never afterwards have heard of the word expuige. We 
should have been content with the words ' rescinded, reversed, 
repealed, and declared to be null and void.' But the conduct 
of the senator from Massachusetts on that occasion, and that 
of the party with which he acted, roused the indignation of 
every friend of the administration on this floor. We then 
determined that the word expunge should never again be sur 
rendered. 

" The senator from Kentucky has introduced a precedent 
from the proceedings of the House of Eepresentatives of Penn- 
sylvania, for the purpose of proving that we have no right to 
adopt this resolution. To this I can have no possible objection. 
But I can tell the senator, if I were convinced that I had voted 
wrong when comparatively a boy, more than twenty years ago, 
the fear of being termed inconsistent would not now deter me 
from voting right upon the same question. I do not, however, 
repent of my vote upon that occasion. I would now vote in the 
same manner under similar circumstances. I should not vote 
to expunge, under any circumstances, any proceeding from the 
journal, by obliterating the record. If I do not prove before I 
take my seat, that the case m the legislature of Pennsylvania 
was essentially different from that now before the Senate, I 
shall agree to be proclaimed inconsistent and time-serving. 

" It was my settled conviction, at the commencement of the 
last session of Congress, that the Senate had no power to 



SPEECH ON EXPUNGING KESOLUTIONS. 201 

obliterate their journal. This was shaken, but not removed, by 
the argument of the senator from Louisiana (Mr. Porter), who 
confessedly made the ablest speech on the other side of the 
question. The Constitution declares that 'each house shall 
keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish 
the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require 
secrecy.' What was the position which that senator then 
attempted to maintain ? In order to prove that we had no 
power to obliterate or destroy our journals, he thought it neces- 
sary to contend that the word ' keep,' as used in the Constitu- 
tion, means both t-o record and to preserve. This appeared to 
me ^0 be a mere begging of the question. 

" I shall attempt no definition of the word ' keep.' At least 
since the days of Plato, we know that definitions have been 
dangerous. Yet, I think that the meaning of the word, as ap- 
plied to the subject-matter, is so plain, that he who runs may 
read. If I direct my agent to keep a journal of his proceedings, 
and publish the same, my palpable meaning is, that he shall 
write these proceedings down from day to day, and pubUsh 
what he has written for general information. After he has 
obeyed my commands, after he has kept his journal and pub^ 
lished it to the world, he has executed the essential part of the 
trust confided to him. What may become of this original 
manuscript journal afterwards, is a matter of total indiflference. 
So in regard to the manuscript journal of either House of Con- 
gress ; after more than a thousand copies have been printed 
and published, and distributed over the Union, it is a matter of 
not the least importance what disposition may be made of them. 
They have answered their purpose, and in any practical view 
become useless. If they were burnt or otherwise destroyed, it 
would not be an event of the slightest public consequence. 
Such indifference has prevailed upon this subject, that these 
journals have been considered, in the Ilouse of Representatives, 
as so much waste paper, and, during a period of thirty-lour 
years after the organization of the government, they were 

9* 



202 LIFE AND SERYICK8 OF JAMES BUCHANAIJ, 

ictually destroyed. From this circumstance no public or pri- 
vate inconvenience has been or ever can be sustained, because 
lur printed journals are received in evidence in all courts of 
.nstice, in the same manner as if the originals were produced. 

" The senator from Louisiana has discovered that to ' keep ' 
gaeans both ' to record ' and ' to preserve.' But can you give 
this, or any other word in the English language, two distinct 
and independent meanings at the same time, as appUed to the 
same subject ? I think not. From the imperfection of human 
language, from the impossibility of having appropriate words to 
express every idea, the same words, as applied to different sub- 
jects, has a variety of significations. As applied to any one 
subject, it cannot, at the same time, convey two distinct mean- 
ings. In the Constitution it must mean either ' to write down ' 
or ' to preserve.' It cannot have both significations. 

" Let senators then take their choice. If it signifies ' to write 
down,' as it unquestionably does, what becomes of the constitu- 
tional injunction to preserve ? The truth is, that the Constitu- 
tion has not provided what shall be done with the manuscript 
journal, after it has served the purposes for which it was called 
into existence. When it has been pubUshed to the people of 
the United States, for whose use it was ordered to be kept, 
after it has thus been perpetuated, and they have been furnished 
with the means of judging of the public conduct of their public 
servants, it ceases to be an object of the least unportance. 
Whether it be thrown into the garret of the capitol, with other 
useless lumber, or be destroyed, is a matter of no public inte- 
rest. It has probably never once been referred to in the history 
of our government. If it should ever be determined to be a 
violation of the Constitution to obliterate or destroy this manu- 
script journal, it must be upon different principles from those 
which have been urged in this debate. My own impression is, 
that as the framcrs of the Constitution have directed us to keep 
a journal, a constructive duty may be implied from this com- 
mand, which would forbid us to obliterate or destroy it. Under 



SrEECU ON EXPUNGING RESOLUTIONS. 203 

Miis impression, I should vote, as I did twenty years ago in the 
Legislature of Pennsylvania, against any proposition actually 
to expunge any ])art of the journal. But, waiving this unpro- 
fitable discussion, let us proceed to the real point in contro- 
versy. 

" Is any such proceeding as that of actually expunging the 
journal, proposed by the resolution of the senator from Mis- 
souri ? I answer, no such tlimg. If the Constitution had, in 
express terms, du-ected us to record and to preserve a journal 
of our proceedings, there is nothing in the resolution now be- 
fore us which would be inconsistent with such a provision. 

" Is the drawing of a black line around the resolution of the 
Senate of March, 1834, to obliterate or to deface it ? On the 
contrary, is it not to render it more conspicuous, to place it in 
bold relief, to give it a prominence in the public view beyond 
any other proceeding of this body in past, and I trust, in all 
future time ? If the argument of senators were, not that we 
have no power to obliterate, but that the Senate possesses no 
power to render one portion of the journal more conspicuous 
than another, it would have had n^uch greater force. Why, 
sir, by means of this very proceeding, that portion of our jour- 
nal upon which it operates will be rescued from a slumber which 
would otherwise have been eternal, and fac-sirailes of the 
original resolution without a word or letter defaced, will be cir- 
culated over the whole Union. 

" But, sir, this resolution also directs, that across the face 
of the condemnatory resolution, there shall be written by the 
secretary : ' Expunged by order of the Senate, thii day 

of , in the year of our Lo^d 1837. 

" Will this obliterate any part of the original resolution ? 
If it does, the duty of the secretary will be performed in a 
very bungling manner. Ko such thing is intended. It would 
be easy to remove every scruple from every mind upon this sub- 
ject, by amending the resolution of the senator from Missouri, 
so as to direct the secretary to perform his duty in such a 



204 LIFE AKD SERVICES OF JAIMES BUCHANAN. 

manner as not to obliterate any part of the condemnatory 
resolution. Such a direction, however, appears to me to be 
wholly unnecessary. The nature of the whole proceeding is 
very plain. We now adopt a resolution expressing our strong 
reprobation of the original resolution, and for this purpose we 
use the word ' expunged ' as the strongest term which we can 
apply. We then direct our secretary to draw black lines 
around it, and place such a reference to our proceedings of this 
day upon its face, that in all time to come, whoever may in- 
spect this portion of our journal, will be pointed at once to 
the record of its condemnation. What lawyer htis not observed 
upon the margin of the judgment docket, if the original judg- 
ment has been removed to a superior court and there reversed, 
a minute of such reversal ? In our editions of the statutes, 
have we not all noted the repeal of any of them which may 
have taken place at a subsequent period ? Who ever heard, 
in the one case or in the other, that this was obliterating or 
destroying the record or the book ? So in this case : we make 
a mere reference to our future proceedings upon the face of the 
resolution instead of tlie margin. Suppose we should only le- 
peal the obnoxious resolution, and direct such a reference to be 
made upon its face, would any senator contend that this would 
be an obliteration of the journal ? 

" But it has been contended that the word expunge is not 
an appropriate word ; and we have wrested it from its true 
signification in applying it to the present case. Even if this 
allegation were correct, the answer would be at hand. You 
might then convict us of bad taste, but not for violation of the 
Constitution. On the face of the resolution we have stated 
distinctly what we mean. We have directed the secretary in 
what manner he shall understand it, and we have excluded the 
idea that it is our intention to obUterate or to destroy the 
journal. 

" But I shall contend that the word expunge is the appropri- 
ate word, and that there is not another in the EngUsh language 



I 



SPEECH ON EXPUXGIXG RESOLUTIONS. 205 

SO precisely adapted to convey our meaning. I shall show 
from the highest literary and parliamentary authorities, that 
this word has acquired a signification entirely distinct from 
that of actual obliteration. Let me proceed immediately to 
this task. After citing my authorities, I shall proceed with 
the argument. First, then, for those of a literary character : 
I read from Crabbe's Synonyms, page 140 (and every senator 
will admit that this is a work of established reputation), in 
speaking of the use of the word ' expunge,' the author says : 
' When the contents of a book are in part rejected, they are 
aptly described as being expunged ; in this manner the free 
thinking sects expunge everything ^rom the Bible which docs not 
suit their purpose, or they expunge from their creed what does 
not humor their passions.' The idea that an actual oblitera- 
tion was intended in these cases would be manifestly absurd. 
In the same page there is a quotation from Mr. Burke, to illus- 
trate the meaning of this word. ' I believe,' says he, ' that 
any person who was of age to take a part in public concerns 
forty years ago (if the intermediate space were expunged from 
his memory), could hardly credit his senses when he should 
hear that an army of two hundred thousand men were kept up 
on this island. I shall now cite Mr. Jefferson as a literary 
authority. He has often been referred to on this floor as a 
standard in politics. For this high authority I am indebted 
to my friend from Louisiana (Mr. Nicholas). In the original 
draught of the Declaration of Independence, he uses the word 
' expunged ' in the following manner : ' Such has been the 
patient sufiferance of these colonies, and such is now the neces- 
sity which constrains them to expunge their former systems of 
government.' Although the word ' alter' was afterwards sub- 
stituted for ' expunge,' I presume upon the ground that this 
was too strong a term, yet the change does not detract from 
the literary authority of the precedent. — JcfftrsorHs Corrcspon- 
dtnce, and \st vol. page IT. 

" I oresume that I have shown that the word ' expunge ' has 



206 LITE AND SEETICES OF JAMES BUCHAN-AN, 

acquired a distinct metaphorical meauing in our literature, 
which excludes the idea of actual obUteration. If I should pro- 
ceed one step further, and prove that in legislative proceedings 
it has acquired the very same signification, I shall then have 
fully established my position. For this purpose I cite, first, ' the 
secret proceedings and debates of the Federal Convention.' In 
page 118 we find the following entries: 'On motion to 
expunge the clause of the qualification as to aye, it was carried 
— ten States against one.' 

" Again : 'On the clause respecting the ineligibility to any 
other office, it was moved that the words, " by any particular 
State," be expunged — four States for, five against, aud two 
divided.' See page 119. 'The last blank was filled up with 
one year, and carried — eight ayes, two noes, one divided.' 

" ' Mr. Pinckney moved to expunge the clause — agreed to, 
nem. con.' 

" Again : ' j\[r. Butler moved to expunge the clause of the 
stipends — lost ; seven against, three for, one divided.' 

" Again, in page 157 : ' Mr. Pinckney moved that that part 
of the clause which disqualifies a person from holding an office 
in the State be expunged, because the first and best characters 
in a State may thereby be deprived of a seat m the national 
council.' 

" ' Question put to strike out the words moved for, and car- 
ried — eight ayes, tliree noes.' 

" It will thus be perceived, that in the proceedings of the 
very convention which formed the Constitution under which we 
are now governed, the word ' expunge ' was often used in its 
figurative sense. It will certainly not be asserted, or even 
intimated, by any senator here, that when these motions to 
expunge prevailed, the words of the original draught of the 
Constitution were actually obliterated or defaced. The mean- 
ing is palpable. These provisions were merely rcj-ected, not 
actually blotted out. 

" But I shall now produce a precedent precisely in point. It 



SPEECH OX EXPUNGING RESOLUTIONS. 207 

presents itself in the proceedings of tlie Senate of Massachu- 
setts, and refers to the famous resolution of that body, adopted 
on the 15th day of June, 1813, in relation to the capture of 
the British vessel Peacock ; denouncing the late war, and 
declaring that it was not becoming in a moral and religious 
people to express any approbation of military or naval exploits 
which were not immediately connected with the defence of our 
sea coast. Some ten years afterwards, a succeeding Senate of 
Massachusetts adopted the following resolution : 

" JReaolved — That the aforesaid resolve of the loth day of June, A. D., 
1813, and the preamble thereof, be, and the same are hereby expunged 
roni the journals of the Senate." 

" It is self-evident that in this case not the least intention 
existed of defacing the old manuscript journal. The word 
• expunge ' was used in its figurative signification, just as it is in 
the case before us, to express the strongest reprobation of the 
former proceeding. That proceeding was to be expunged solely 
by force of the subsequent .resolution, and not by any actual 
obliteration. There never was any actual obliteration of the 
journal. 

" Judging, then, from the highest English authorities, from 
the works of celebrated authors and statesmen, and from the 
proceedings of legislative bodies, is it not evident that the word 
' expunge ' has acquired a distinct meaning, altogether inconsis- 
tent with any actual obliteration ? 

" All that we have heard about defacing and destroying the 
journal are mere phantoms, which have been conjured up to 
terrify the timid. We intend no such thing. \Vc only mean 
most strongly to express our conviction that the condemnatory 
resolution ought uever to have found a place on the journal 
If more authorities were wanted, I might refer to the legisla- 
ture of Vil'ginia. The present expunging resolution is in exact 
conformity with their instructions to their senators. As a mat- 
ter of taste, I cannot say that I much admire their plan, 



208 LIFE AND SEKYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

though I entertain no doubt that it is perfectly constitutional. 
That State is highly literary, and I think I have establislied 
that tlieir legislature, when they used the word 'expunge,' 
without intending thereby to effect an actual obliteration of the 
journal, justly appreciated the meaning of the language which 
they employed. 

"The word ' expunge ' is in my opinion the only one which 
we could have used clearly and forcibly to accomplish our pur- 
pose. Even if it had not been sanctioned by practice as a par- 
liamentary word, we ought ourselves to have first established 
the precedent. It suits the case precisely. If you rescind, re- 
verse, or repeal a resolution, you thereby admit that it once 
had constitutional or legal authority. If you declare it to have 
been null and void from the beginning, this is but the expression 
of your own opinion that such was the fact. This word ' ex- 
punge ' acts upon the resolution itself : it at once goes to its 
origin, and destroys its legal existence, as if it had never been. 
It does not merely kill, but it annihilates. 

" Parliamentary practice has changed the meaning of several 
other words from their primitive signification in a similar man- 
ner with that of the word ' expunge.' The original significa- 
tion of the word ' rescind,' is ' to cut off.' Usage has made it 
mean, in reference to a law or resolution, to abrogate or repeal 
it. \Vq every day hear motions ' to strike out.' What is 
the literal meaning of this expression ? The question may be 
best answered by asking another, If I were to request you 
to strilce out a line from ycir letter, and you were willing to 
comply with my request, what would be your conduct ? You 
would run your pen through it immediately, you would Uterally 
strike it out. Yet, what use do we make of this phrase every 
day in our legislative proceedings ? If I make a motion to 
strike out a section from a bill, and it prevails, the Secretary 
encloses the printed copy of it in black lines, and makes a note 
on the margin that it has been stricken out. The original he 
never touches. Why, then, should not the word ' expunge,' 



SPEECH ON EXPUNGING KESOLUTIONS. 209 

wthout obliterating the proceedings to which it is directed, sig- 
nify to destroy, as if it never had existed ? 

" After all that has been said, I think I need scarcely again 
recur to the Pennsylvania precedent. It is evident, from the 
whole of that proceeding, that an actual expunging of the jour- 
nal was intended, if it had not already been executed. I have 
no recollection whatever of the circumstances, but I am under a 
perfect conviction, from the face of the journal, that such was 
the nature of the case. I should vote now as I did then, after 
a period of more than twenty years. Both my vote and the 
motion which I subsequently made upon that occasion, evidently 
proceeded upon this principle. The question arose in this man- 
ner, as it appears from the journal : On the 10th of February, 
1816, 'The Speaker informed the House that a constitutional 
question being involved in a decision by hhn yesterday, on a 
motion to expunge certain proceedings from the journal, he 
was desirous of having the opinion of the House on that decision,' 
viz. : "that a majority can expunge from the journal proceed- 
ings in which the yeas and nays have not been called." ' Now, 
as no trace whatever appears upon the journal of the preceding 
day, of the motion to which the Speaker refers, it is highly 
probable, nay, it is almost certain, that the proceedings had 
been actually expunged before he asked the advice of the 
House. 

" No man feels with more sensibility the necessity which 
compels him to perform an unkind act towards his brother sen- 
ators than myself ; but we have now arrived at that point when 
imperious duty demands that wo should either adopt this expung- 
ing resolution, or abandon it forever. Already much precious 
time has been employed in its discussion. The moment has 
arrived when we must act. Senators in the opposition console 
themselves with the belief that posterity will do them justice, 
should it be denied to them by the present generation. They 
place their own names in the one scale and ours in the other, 
and flatter themselves with the hope, that before that tribunal, 



210 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

at least, their weight will preponderate. For my own part, I 
am willing to abide the issue. I am willing to be judged for 
the vote which I shall give to-day, not only by the present, but 
by the future generation, should my obscure name ever be men- 
tioned in after times. After the passions and prejudices of the 
present moment shall have subsided, and the impartial historian 
shall record the proceeding of this day, he will say that the dis- 
tinguished men who passed the resolution condemning the Presi- 
dent, were urged on to the act by a desire to occupy the high 
places in the government, that an ambition, noble in itself, but 
not wisely regulated, had obscured their judgment, and impell- 
ed them to the adoption of a measure, unjust, illegal, and un- 
constitutional ; that, in order to vindicate both the Constitution 
and the President, we were justified in passing this expunging 
resolution, and thus stamping the former proceeding with our 
strongest disapprobation. 

" I rejoice in the belief that this promises to be one of the 
last highly exciting questions of the present day. During the 
period of General Jackson's civil administration, what has he 
not done for the American people ? During this period, he hus 
had more difficult and dangerous questions to settle, both at 
home and abroad— questions which aroused more intensely the 
passions of men— than any of his predecessors. They are now 
all happily ended, except the one which we shall this day bring 
to a close — 

" ' Anil all the clouds that lowered upon our house 
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.' 

"The country now enjoys abundant prosperity at home, 
whilst it is respected and admired by foreign nations. Although 
the waves may yet be in some agitation from the effect of the 
storms through which we have passed, yet I think I can per- 
ceive the rainbow of peace extending itself across the firmament 
of heaven. 

" Should the next administration pursue the same course of 
policy with the present ; should it dispense equal justice to aU 



spep:cii ox expunging resolutions. 211 

portions and all interests of the Union without sacrificin*^ any ; 
should it be conduetcd with prudence and with lirmiiess, and I 
doubt not but that this will be the case, we shall hereafter 
enjoy comparative peace and quiet in our day. This will be 
the precious fruit of the energy, the toils, and the wisdom of 
the pilot who ha? conducted us iii safety through the storms of 
his tempestuous administration. 

"I am now prepared for the question. I shall vote for this 
resolution, but not cheerfully. I regret the necessity which 
exists for passing it, but I believe that imperious duty demands 
its adoption. If I know my own heart, I can truly say that I 
am not actuated by any desire to obtain a miserable, petty, 
personal triumph, either for myself or for the President of the 
United States over my associates upon this floor. 

" I am now ready to record my vote, and thus in the oppro- 
brious language of senators in the opposition, to become one 
of the executioners of the condemnatory resolution." 

Immediately after the delivery of Mr. Buchanan's speech, the 
vote on the " Expunging Resolution " was taken, and the 
odious sentence stricken from the record of the Senate. Mr. 
Benton had the gratiQcation of seeing his labors accom- 
plished, and all the friends of Gen. Jackson were abundantly 
pleased that he would now retire from the distinguished posi- 
tion he had occupied through a period of unexampled political 
strife, with honor to himself, and without a blot upon his fair 
fame. As it may be interesting to know at this day what 
senators refused this act of justice to President Jackson, now 
that his administration has been unanimously ratified by the 
jude-inent of posterity, we g-ve the vote on this celebrated 
resolution. 

Yeas. — Messrs. Benton, Brown, Buchanan, Dana, Ewing of 
Illinois, Fulton, Grundy, Hubbard, King of Alabama, Linn, 
Morris, Nicholas, Niles, Page, Rives, Robinson, Ruggles, Sevier. 
Strange, Talhnadge, Tipton, ^yalker, Wall, Wright.— 24. 



212 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Nays. — Bayard, Black, Calhoun, Clay, Crittenden, Davis, 
Ewing of Ohio, Hendricks, Kent, Knight, Moore, Prentiss, 
Preston, Eobbins, Southard, Swift, Tomlinson, Webster, 
White.— 19. 

The subsequent events of this session were not important. 
Mr. Buchanan, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, made 
a report in regard to the i state of affairs between our country 
and Mexico, and as early as this stated that strict justice would 
require us even then to go to war with that country, but for 
the present he counselled further forbearance. The session 
adjourned on the 3d of March, after having at least accom- 
plished one notable and praiseworthy act, the vindication of 
Gen. Jackson. 



MK. TAN BUKEn's ADMINISTRATION. 213 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Mr. Van Buren's Administration — Tlie Extra Session— Mr. Buchanan's Speech on the 
Sub-Treasury Bill. 

Martix Van Burex was inaugurated President, and took his 
seat as tlie successor of General Jackson, on the 4th of March, 
1837. The financial embarrassment and commercial distress 
were if possible even greater than in the revulsion of 18^0-21. 
The flooding of the country with excessive issues of paper curren- 
cy had stimulated another of these disastrous periods of general 
speculation, w^ich had spread desolation and ruin far and near. 
In the midst of the universal distress Mr. Van Buren called an 
extra session of Congress, to take some measures to relieve, if 
possible, the pressure of the times, and to promote the general 
welfare of the country. Among the new members who made 
their first appearance at this session was the Hon. Franklin 
Pierce, the present chief magistrate ; Clay, Calhoun, Webster, 
Benton, Silas Wright, and other prominent names still conti- 
nued on the senatorial list. 'Mr. Buchanan occupied the same 
place, the chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
he had in the previous Congress. Almost the first bill intro- 
duced was what is known as the " Sub-Treasury Act." It was 
violently opposed, and though it passed the Senate twice it was 
both times rejected by the House. 

Simple as were the principles of this bill, and as fully as they 
are now acknowledged to be right and proper, yet the oppo- 
sition both in Congress and out of it, which was raised against 
the measure, demonstrates what a powerful, temporary excite- 
ment can be produced where there is not the sUghtest reason to 



21-1: LIFE AND SER-STCES OF JAMES BrCnANAN. 

warrant it. Mr. Van Buren wished merely to complete, the 
divorce between bank and state which General Jackson had so 
nobly inaugurated. What more simple to effect this than that 
the government by its own agents should disburse its OAvn 
revenue, instead of employing banks to do it ? As long as the 
government was in any way mixed up with these institutions, 
it would be charged with almost every financial embarrassment 
the currency might experience. The agitation the questioa 
caused in politics would be avoided by adopting the simple 
direct principles of the Constitution, and one more step would 
have been taken towards returning to the letter and spirit of 
that instrument. Mr. Buchanan made a speech of great power 
and research upon the bill, which is valuable as going into a full 
explanation of the causes of financial embarrassment in a pro- 
found statesmanlike manner, and in presenting a clear concep- 
tion of the powers of the general government in regard to the 
question under consideration. Its great length i as compelled 
us to abridge it, but we trust we have given its most unportant 
points. The following is the opening portion : 

i\fR. President : It cannot be denied that the commercial 
and manufacturing classes of our people throughout the Union 
are now suffering severely under one of those periodical preS' 
surcs which have so often afflicted the country. Neither have the 
agricultural and other interests escaped without injury, although 
they have not suffered to the same extent. The exhaustion of 
the human system does not succeed a high degree of unnatural 
excitement with more unerring certainty than that a dej-ression 
in the business of the country must follow excessive speculation. 
The one is a law of nature, the other a scarcely less uniform 
law of trade. The degree of this depression will always bear 
an exact proportion to the degree of overaction. As many de- 
grees as the system has been elevated above the point of healthy 
action, so many degrees must it sink below, after the effects of 
the stimulus have passed away. 



SPEECH ON THE SUB-TREAgUKY BILL. 215 

" What has been the history of the counti'y in tliis respect ? 
One of constant vibration. I can speak positively on this sub- 
ject in regard to the period of time since I came into public 
life. What has been will be again. The same causes will pro 
duce the same effects. We can cherish no reasonable hope of 
a change unless State legislatures should take a firm and decided 
stand. The history of the past will become that of the future 
This year we have sunk to the extreme point of depression. 
The country is now glutted with foreign merchandise. There 
will, therefore, be but few importations. All our efforts are now 
directed towards the payment of our foreign debt. The next 
year the patient will begin to recruit his exhausted energies. 
Domestic manufactures will flourish in proportion as foreign 
goods become scarce. The third year, a fair business will bo 
done. The country will present a flourishing appearance. Pro- 
perty of all descri})tions will command a fair price, and we shall 
ghde along smoothly and prosperously. Tlie fourth or the fifth 
year the era of extravagant speculation will return, again to 
be succeeded by another depression. At successive periods the 
best and most enterprising men of the country are crushed. 
They fall victims at the shrine of the insatiate and iusatial)lo 
Moloch of extravagant banking. It is an evcvlasting cycle. 
The wise man says there is no new thing under the sun, and we 
are destined, I fear, again and again to pass through the same 
vicissitudes. The aspect is perpetually changing, but is never 
new. 

" Senators have plumed themselves, and their admirers 
throughout the country have applauded them as being wonder- 
fully sagacious in their predictions. Their respective partisans 
are ready to exclaim : 

•The spirit of deep prophecy he hath, 
Exceeding the nine Sibyls of old Rome ; 
What's past and wbal's to come he can descry.' 

" But no deep penetration into futurity was required to make 



216 LITE AND SEUJVICES OF JAilES BUCHA^S'AN. 

these prophecies. Until existing causes shall be removed, the 
future must be the countei-part of the past. 

" Whence this eternal vicissitude in the business of the coun- 
try ? What is the secret spring of all these calamities ? I 
answer, the spirit of enterprise, so natural to American citizens, 
excited into furious action by the stimulus of excessive bank- 
ing. It operates as does the inhaling of oxygen gas upon the 
human mind, urging it on to every extravagance and to every 
folly. 

" I do not deny that several subordinate circumstances have 
operated in unison with this grand cause to make the present 
catastrophe more severe than it otherwise might have been. 
Still it is the root of all the evil. It is the chief and almost 
the only source from which the existing distress has flowed. 

" I was not a member of this body when the discussion tooK 
place of the veto of the bank charter, or the removal of 
the deposits. Although both these measures received my cor- 
dial approbation, yet I refrain purposely from replying at this 
late period to the remarks which have been made on these sub- 
jects. They have already passed into history, and been sanc- 
tioned by the public approbation. 

" Amongst these subsidiary causes of the existing distress, 
may be enumerated the destruction of capital by the great fire 
at New York in December, 1835. The wild speculations in 
public lands, and in splendid towns and cities upon paper 
throughout the Western States, which withdrew capital from 
the commercial cities, where it was most wanted, to portions of 
the country where it was not required ; and the specie circular, 
if you please, which, however wise it may have been in its 
origin, ought not, m my opinion, to have been continued m 
force after it had performed its ofQce and had checked the wild 
speculations in pubUc lands. I voted in favor of the bill at the 
last session, which repealed this circular ; and, under the same 
circumstances, I would again act in the same manner. But 
permit me to say that its effects have been greatly exaggerated. 



Sri:FCIl ON TlIK SL'n-TUKASUKY BIIX. 217 

It did not carry to the West anythinj^ approaching the amount 
of gold and siver which senators have estimated. According to 
the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, all the specie in all 
the western deposit banks, including Michigan, but little 
exceeded four millions of dollars at the date of the suspension 
of specie payments ; and in the southwestern deposit banks it 
did not amount to one million two hundred thousand dollars. 
I shall not stop to inquire how much less gold and silver there 
would have been in these depositories had the specie circular 
never existed. Certain it is that the comparatively small 
amount of specie which came into these banks in consequence 
of this circulation, could have produced but an inconsiderable 
effect on the business of our commercial cities, and still less 
upon the suspension of specie payments. 

" These causes may have made the revulsion a little more 
severe ; but, had they never existed, still it must have come 
with desolating force. 

" Senators have attributed some portions of the existing dis- 
tress to the act of 1834, regulating the standard of our gold 
coins. They have not told us, and they cannot tell us, how 
this act could have produced such an effect. It was no party 
measure, and upon its passage, there were but few, I believe 
but seveir, votes against it in the Senate. It was a measure of 
absolute necessity, if we desired that our own gold coins should 
circulate in this country. Before its passage, a half eagle, as 
an article of merchandise, was intrinsically worth about five 
dollars and thirty-three cents in silver, whilst its standard value, 
as currency, under our laws was only five dollars. It is mani- 
fest, therefore, that eagles and half eagles never could have 
entered into general circulation had it not been for the passage 
of this act, which is now condemned. It was a mere adjust- 
ment of the relative value of gold to silver, according to the 
standard of other nations, and, if I am not greatly mistaken in 
my memory, conformed exactly in this particular with the laws 
of Spain and Portugal. 

10 



218 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BECHANA:^. 

" I have been utterly at a loss to conceive the cause of the 
hostility of senators to this necessary measure, unless it be from 
a feeling similar to that which, it is said, made a distinguished 
gentleman desire to kill every sheep which came in his way. 
He could feel no personal hostility to these innocent and harm- 
less animals, but was such a violent anti-tariff man that the 
sight of them always reminded him of our woollen manufactures. 
Certainly no gentleman can entertain any objection to the 
«agles and half eagles themselves ; but they may remind sena- 
tors of the eflicient and untiring exertions of the senator from 
Missouri (Mr. Benton), to introduce a gold currency into cumu- 
lation. As gold, they may like these coins ; but as Bentonian 
mint-drops, they are detestable. 

" Senators have also contended that the present depressed 
condition of the country has been produced, in some degree, by 
the large importations of specie which were encouraged by the 
administration of General Jackson. I shall not be diverted 
from my main purpose by answering this objection in detail. 
Even if their position were correct, which I by no means admit, 
that more gold and silver had been forced into the country than 
our necessities demanded, or the fixed laws of trade would have 
justified, still the effect would have been transient and trifling. 
It would have immediately flowed back through the channels 
of commerce to the place from whence it came, until the par 
exchange had been restored. This is one of the fixed and in- 
variable laws of trade, from the obligation of which we can 
never be released. 

" The senator from Kentucky (Mr. Clay), in the course of 
his remarks upon this subject, involved himself in a strange con- 
tradiction. At the commencement of his speech, he deprecated, 
with his usual eloquence and ability, the policy of the past 
administration in forcing specie into this country, contrary to 
the laws of trade. Towards the conclusion, when his fancy 
became excited by the contemplation of the splendid bank of 
the Uuited States which it was his purpose to establish, ho 



SPEECn ON THE SUB-TREASUKY BILL. 219 

seemed entirely to have changed his opinion. lu order to 
obtain the necessary amount of specie capital, he proposed that 
some twenty or twenty-five millions of this bank stock should 
be transmitted to Europe, and sold to foreigners in exchange 
for gold and silver. It was a violation of the laws of trade, 
whicli must recoil upon us, to force a greater amount of specie 
into the country than our just proportion, for the purpose of 
putting it into circulation among the people ; but, when the 
purpose is to furnish a specie capital of twenty or twenty-five 
millions for a new bank of the United States, then all difficulties 
vanish from the mind of the gentleman. 

" No, sir," said Mr. B., " without the agency of any of these 
secondary causes, the present distress must have come. It was 
inevitable as fate. No law of nature is more fixed, than that 
our over-banking and our over-trading must have produced the 
disastrous results under which we are now suffering. 

" Is there now, in any of our large commercial cities, such an 
individual as a regular importing or commission merchant ? I 
mean a merchant who is content to grow rich, as our fathers 
did, by the successive and regular profits of many years of indus- 
try in his own peculiar pursuit. If there be such persons, they 
are rare. No, sir, all desire to grow rich rapidly. Each takes 
his chance in the lottery of speculation. Although there may 
be a hundred chances to one against him, each eagerly intent 
upon the golden prize, overlooks the intervening rocks and 
quicksands between him and it, and when he fondly thinks he 
is about to clutch it, he sinks into bankruptcy and ruin. Such 
has been the fate of thousands of our most enterprising citizens. 
It is enough to make one's heart bleed to contemplate tne 
blighted hopes and ruined prospects of those who have fallen 
victims to the demon of speculation. Many of them have been 
the most promising, and but for this fatal error, would have 
become the most useful citizens of our country. Under the in- 
fluence of this feeling, they not only risk their own all, but often 



220 LIFE AKD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

the all of others, ■which has been confided to them ; not, as I 
firmly beliove, with any deliberate purpose of being dishonest, 
but lu the confident but delusive hope that fortune may smUe 
u})on their efforts, and enable them to meet all their responsi- 
bilities. 

" Far be it from me to utter one word against the profession 
of the merchant. By their abiUty and enterprise, our mer- 
chants have cast lustre upon the character of our country 
throughout the world. They are amongst our most useful 
citizens. They are agents for exchanging our productions with 
distant nations and among ourselves. Commerce is the hand- 
maid of agriculture and manufactures, and heaven forbid, that 
I should be the instrument of exciting hostility between them. 
Again, I am the last man in the country who would crush that 
spirit of enterprise and of untu-iug effort wliich belongs to the 
American character. It has produced miracles. It has covered 
every sea with our flag. With a rapidity unexampled in the 
history of the world, it has converted the wilderness into fruit- 
ful fields, and flourishing towns and cities. It has erected 
splendid unprovemeuts of every kind. It has covered, and is 
covering the face of our vast country with railroads and canals, 
and has enabled a nation, centuries behind in the start, to sur- 
jiass all her rivals in the career of internal improvement. If I 
had the power, I would regulate this spirit. I would hmit it 
w^ithin proper bounds. God forbid that I should destroy it. 

"It is impossible that manufactures and conmaerco can 
flourish to any great degree in this country wdthout the aid of 
extensive credit ; I would not, therefore, abolish banks if I 
could. A return to a pure metallic currency is impossible. To 
make such an attempt would be ruinous as well as absurd. It 
would at once diminish the nominal value of all property more than 
fifty per cent., and would, in effect, double the amount of every 
man's debts. It would enrich creditors at the expense of their 
debtors, and thus make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. 



SPEECH ON TUK SUB-TKEASUKT BII.l 221 

It would paralyze industry and enterprise. I would g-ive cnter- 
pr'rsc wholesome food to feed upon, but would not drive it into 
mad speculation, by administering uiuuitural stimulants. 

" What power does this government possess to regulate the 
banking system of the country? None, comparatively none. 
It belongs to the States. We shall soon sec whether they will 
exert this power in a wise and beneficial manner. Every 
obstacle has been removed from their course, by the general 
suspension of specie payments. But the banks are all-powerful. 
Their presidents, their directors, their cashiers, their stockhold- 
ers, and their agents, pervade our whole society. They are 
spread over the land. A common interest will unite them in a 
solid phalanx, for the purpose of making a common effort. 
They will invade our halls of legislation, and exert all the 
influence which they may possess with every department of qui 
State governments, for the purpose of preserviug their exorbi 
taut privileges. The people may now establish these institu 
tions upon a stable and useful foundation. The conflict will be 
tremendous, and I confess, I tremble for the result. The weal 
or the woe of this country, for many years to come, depends 
upon the issue. 

" In this crisis, all which the general government can effect 
is, in the first place, to withhold its deposits from the banks, 
and thus refrain from contributing their funds to swell the 
torrent of wild speculation, and, in the second place, to restrain 
the extravagance of their credits and issues, in some small 
degree, by collecting and iisbursing our revenue exclusively in 
specie, or in the notes of banks which will pay the balances due 
from them in specie, at short intervals. To accomplish these 
two purposes, as well as to render the public revenues more 
secure, are the objects of the bill and amendment now before 
the Senate. 

" The evils of a redundant paper circulation are now mani- 
fest to every eye. It alternately rai.scs and sinks the value of 
eyery man's property. It makes a beggar of the maa to-mor* 



223 LIFE AND 6EKVICES OF JAMES BUCnAN'AN. 

row who is indulging in dreams of wealth to-day. It convertc 
the business of society into a mere lottery, whilst those who 
iistribute the prizes are wholly irresponsible to the people 
When the collapse comes, as come it must, it casts laborers out 
of employment, crushes manufactures and merchants, and ruins 
thousands of honest and industrious citizens. Shall we, then, 
by our policy, any longer contribute to such fatal results.? 
That is the question. 

"The system of extravagant banking benefits no person, 
exept the shrewd speculator, who knows how to take advan- 
tage of the perpetual fluctuation in prices which a redundant 
paper currency never fails to produce. He sees, in the general 
causes which operate upon the commercial world, when money 
is about to be scarce, and when it will become plenty. He 
studies the run as a gambler does that of the cards. He knows 
when to buy and when to sell, and thus often realizes a large 
estate in a few happy ventures. Those who have been initiated 
into the mysteries of the paper-money market, can thus accum- 
ulate rapid fortunes at the expense of their less skillful neigh- 
bors. 

" The question before the Senate is not, whether we shall 
divorce the government from the banks ; the banks themselves 
have done that already ; the alhance is already dissolved. The 
question now is, shall we, with all the experience of the past, 
restore this ill-fated union? No propitious divinities would 
grace the new nuptials, but the fatal sisters would be there 
ready again to cut the cord at the first approach of difficulty 
and danger. 

"The senator from Virginia (Mr. Eives) has appealed to 
us in the name of consistency to support his amendment, but 
circumstances have entirely changed since we voted for it at 
the last session. Then the union existed between the banks 
and the treasury, and his bill prescribed the relative duties of 
the contracting parties. Now the contract is at an end. The 
banks have violated its fundamental obligations, and the gov- 



SPEECH OX THE SUB-TREASUKT BILL. 223 

ernmeut is free The preliminary question now is, sliail we 
enter into a new alliance ? We must first determine that v/e 
sliall, before any question of consistency can arise Slioukl we 
again connect ourselves with the banks, tlien, and not till thet . 
can we be called upon to adopt rules regulating the union 
The amendment of the senator from Virginia proceeds upon 
the assumption that oui former relations are to be restored I 
oppose the amendment; mainly because I am hostile to this 
re-union. If Congress should first determine to restore the old 
relations between the parties, then, and not till then, might 
there be some force in an ajjpeal to our consistency. 

" We are left, at this moment, entirely free to decide what is 
best to be doue with the public money. To use the language 
of the Senator from South Carohua (Mr, Calhoun), we have 
rcacned a point from whence we are about to take a ue\v 
departure. But three courses have been, or, in the nature of 
things, can be presented for our selection. AVe nmst either 
deposit the public money iu a bank of the United States, to be 
created for that purpose, or restore it to the State banks, or 
provide for its safe custody in the hands of our own officers, 
without the agency of any bank. State or national. 

" And first, iu regard to the creation of another bank of the 
United States. It was not my purpose, at this time, to offer 
my objections in detail to such an institution. Even if I had 
intended to present my views fully upon this subject, the over- 
whelming vote of the Senate on Tuesday last, against the 
establishment of such a bank, would warn me to forbear. It 
would be labor lost, and time expended in vain. I shall con- 
tent myself, therefore, with a few general observations upoa 
this branch of the subject, and a short reply to some of tiie 
remarks which have been made by the advocates of a new 
bank. 

" In my opinion, the most alarming dangers which would 
result from such an institution, have never yet been presented 
in bold relief before the people. This has arisen from the 



224 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN, 

unnatural position of that institution towards the government. 
We have seen it struggling against executive power, and its 
efforts have been tremendous They would have been irresisti- 
ble against any other President than Andrew Jackson, As it 
was, the conflict was of the most portentous character, and 
shook the Union to its centre. But we have witnessed the 
exception, not the rule. It is the natural ally, not the enemy 
of power. Wealth and power necessarily attract each other, 
and are always ready to rush to each other's embrace. In the 
language once used by a distinguished orator, now no more 
(Mr. Kandolph), ' Male and female created he them.' Suppose 
General Jackson and the bank had been in alliance, and not in 
opposition ; what then might have been the consequences, had 
he been an enemy to the hberties of his country ? Armed with 
all the power and all the patronage which belonged to the Pre- 
sident of the United States, enjoying unbounded popularity, and 
wielding the combined wealth of the country, through the 
agency of this all-powerful bank and its branches, planted in 
every portion of the Union, can any man say that our liberties 
would not have been in danger ? All the forms of the Consti- 
tution might have remained, the people might still have been 
flattered with the idea of electing their own officers, but the 
animating sphit of our free institutions would have departed 
forever. A secret, an all-pervading influence, would have 
sapped the foundations of liberty, and made it an empty name. 
Under such circumstances, a President might always select his 
successor. But, thank Heaven, the danger has passed away, 
and I trust forever. 

" If any of my friends on this side of the House, who advo- 
cate the establishment of a national bank, should be elected 
President— and if their political principles are to prevail with 
a majority of the people of this country, that majority could not 
make a better selection— in what situation shall we be placed ? 
One of the first measures of the administration would be to 
establish a magniflceut bank of the United States, with a capi- 



SPEFXH ON THE 6UB-TREASUKY BILL. 225 

tal of at least fifty milUons of dollars, and with branches 
tliroughout the different States. A feeling of gratitude towards 
their creator would render them subservient to his will. It 
would be their pride and their pleasure to promote his influence 
and extend his power. We should have no more wars between 
the bank and the government. They would move on harmo- 
niously together. In other days, the time might arrive when 
the bank would be used by some bad and aspiring President, 
as a powerful instrument to subvert the liberties of his country. 

" Even if such a bank could better regulate the currency and 
the domestic exchanges of the country than any otlier instru- 
ment, still it would be infinitely better to bear the ills we have 
than to endanger the existence or the purity of our free insti- 
tutions. 

" But wou.a such a bank control and regulate the issues of the 
State banks ? I answer, no. It would not if it could ; it 
could not if it would. In the affairs of human life, if you 
expect an agent to restrain and control another, you ought to 
render either their interests or their inclinations different and 
counteracting. To accomplish this purpose they must be 
' antagonistical ' to each other. When such agents are corpo- 
rations, this is emphatically true. Peculiarly governed by 
self-interest, they feel no enthusiasm unless it be to make large 
dividends for their stockholders. Now, a bank of the United 
States would have precisely the same interest with the State 
banks in making extravagant loans and issues. Whenever, in 
their estimation, they should extend their accommodations, 
without endangering their own security, they would pursue that 
course. This is the powerful instinct of self-interest. You 
cannot change the fixed laws which govern human nature, by 
making men directors and stockholders in the Bank of the 
United States. It is absurd to suppose that a large moneyed 
corporation, having in view solely its own interests, will volun- 
tarily become the regulator of the paper currency of a great 
nation, and prevent those ruinous contractions and expansions 

10* 



226 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANA.:^'. 

under which both England and this country have periodically 
suffered. It would be easy for me to prove, at least to my own 
satisfaction, that, in point of fact, neither the first nor the last 
bank of the United States ever did exercise a regular and effi- 
cient control over the issues of the State banks. Both the one 
and the others have thus rushed together, and have together 
administered to that spirit of over-trading and extravagant 
speculation which has so often desolated our country. To 
pursue such a course of illustration would, however, be to 
revive the old controversy ; to tread the ground which has 
been so often trodden, and to direct me from that which more 
essentially belongs to the present question. 

" The mistake committed hi regard to the deposit banks, 
was the belief that they would be able and willing to restrain 
the issues of the other State banks. Fortified with the pubUc 
deposits, and numerous as they were, they might possibly have 
done something towards the accomplishment of such a purpose. 
But, bank hke — human nature like-^iustead of aiming at any 
such result, the government deposits Tbecame the instrument in 
their hands of still more extravagant credits and circulation. 
Their objects seemed to be not to restrain, but to give loose 
reins to the other banks and to themselves, and thereby 
.'ncrease their own profits." 

******* 

Mr. Buchanan having concluded this portion of his subject, 
ihen noticed the position Mr. Webster had taken upon the 
pestion, and thus referred to that distinguished man : 

" What, then, was the senator's main position ? In this I 
ihink I cannot be mistaken, I wish to state it distinctly and 
fairly. He contended that Congress not only possess the power 
inder the Constitution, but that it is their imperative duty 
to create and furnish for the people of this country a paper 
curre^ncy which shall be at par in all portions of the Union, 



SPEECH OJf THE SUB-TREASURY BILL. 227 

and everywliere serve as the medium of domestic exchanges. In 
what particuLir mode or by what means, this paper currency 
was to be called into existence, the senator did not explain. Od 
this point he was quite mysterious. He infers the existence of 
this power from two clauses in the Constitution ; the first, that 
which confers on Congress the power ' to regulate commerce 
with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with 
the Indian tribes ; ' and the second, ' to coin money, regulate 
the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of 
weights and measures.'" 

(Here Mr. Webster also referred Mr. Buchanan to that 
clause of the Constitution which prohibits the States from 
coining money or emitting bills of credit.) 

" What, in ray opinion, constitutes the chief excellence of 
the senator from Massachusetts, as a public speaker, is the 
clearness with which he states his propositions, and his power 
of condensation in maintaining them. When he happens to be 
in the wrong, these high qualities operate against himself, and 
render his errors more conspicious. Such was my conviction 
yesterday, when he undertook the herculean task of deducing 
the power to create a paper currency, without any limit but the 
discretion of Congress, from the simple powers of regulating 
commerce, and coining hard money. 

" By the state of the question before the Senate, the gentle- 
man has been di'iven into a narrow place, and has chosen a po- 
sition which his great powers will not enable him to maintain. 
The bill upon your table proposes to keep on deposit, and to 
transfer the public revenue, where it may be required, without 
the agency of any bank. If these duties can be successfully 
performed by the officers of the government, then there can be 
no pretence for claiming the power to incorporate a national 
bank from that clause in the Constitution giving Congress the 
power ' to levy and collect taxes, duties, impost, and excises, and 
to pay the debt of the United States.' The present bill pro- 
vided for all these purposes, independently of all banks. There 



228 LIFE AXD SERVICES OF JAitES BUCHANAN. 

can, theu, he no necessity to create one as a fiscal agent of the 
government ; and, of consequence, the ancient argument ia 
favor of its constitutionality fails to the ground. This was its 
origin ; this was the foundation on which it has formerly rested. 
The power to issue notes, and that to regulate the exchanges 
of the country, have heretofore been considered as merely inci- 
dental to the bank itself, after it had been called into existence 
as a necessary fiscal agent of the treasury. These have never 
been considered as powers inherent in the government, but as 
mere consequences of the regular action of a national banking 
institution. Under existing circumstances, the senator is driven 
even from these comparatively narrow limits. He disclaims the 
:dea of advocating, at present, the establishment of a national 
bank, hence he has never once, throughout the whole course of 
his argument, called to his aid the power ' to levy and collect 
taxes.' He has not even mentioned it. He casts this power 
into the background, whilst he claims for Congress, from the 
other clauses of the Constitution which I have read, the trans- 
cendent power of creating a paper currency without limits. 

" Let us for a few moments examine his argument. The 
framers of the Constitution were sturdy patriots, who, with a 
bold but cautious hand, conferred upon the general government 
certain enumerated powers. Dreading lest this government 
might attempt to usurp other powers which had not been 
granted, they have expressly declared that ' the powers not 
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respective- 
ly or to the people.' This caution was absolutely necessary to 
prevent astute and subtle lawyers from extending, by forced and 
ingenious constructions, the clear and explicit grant of powers 
which was traced by the hand of our fathers.' Does the Consti- 
tution, then, anywhere expressly confer upon Congress the 
power of creating a national paper currency ? This is not pre- 
tended. But the senator from Massachusetts has found it lurk- 
ing under the power 'to regulate commerce with foreign 



SPEECH ON THE 6UB-TREASUKT BILL. 229 

nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian 
tribes.' What is the signification of the word ' regulate V 
Does it mean to create ? No, sir. Such a signification would 
be to confound the meaning of two of the plainest words in the 
English language. You create something new ; you regulate 
the action of that which has already been called into existence. 
The meaning of the word ' regulate,' as used by the framcrs of 
the Constitution themselves, clearly appears in a subsequent 
clause in the instrument. ' Congress shall have power to coin 
money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures.' To coin money is the 
creation of the subject ; after it has been coined, and thus 
brought into existence, you regulate the value of it and of 
foreign coin. There are no two words in the English language 
which have more distinct and precise meanings than to ' create ' 
and to ' regulate.' The word ' regulate ' necessarily presupposes 
the previous existence of something to be regulated. Such is 
its plain, clear signification in the Constitution. Commerce had 
long existed ' with foreign nations and among the several States, 
and with the Indian tribes,' previous to the date of the Consti- 
tution. Its framers took the subject up as they found it, and 
acting upon the existmg state of things, they authorized Con- 
gress to regulate, or to prescribe rules for conducting this com- 
merce in all future times. To infer, therefore, from this simple 
power of regulating commerce, that of creating and issuing a 
supply of paper money for the country, strikes me as one of the 
most extraoiHinary propositions which has ever been presented 
to the Senate." 

It cannot be denied that the above plain, common sense views 
of the power of Congress to establish a national bank is so plainly 
and so palpablj correct, that no arguments renowned as the 
senator from Massachusetts was for his logical abilities, could 
overthrow them. Mr. Buchanan, in closing this part of his 
speech, presented the following very clear statement of the dif- 



230 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN 

ference between the political parties of our country. Ha 
said : 

" Two political schools have existed in this country from the 
time the Constitution was adopted. The one favored a strict, 
the other a liberal, construction of that instrument. The one 
has been jealous of State rights, the other the advocate of fede- 
ral power. The senator from Massachusetts, if we may judge by 
his argument upon the present occasion, is far in advance of 
those who have hitherto gone the farthest in support of fede- 
ral power. He has made large strides towards consolidation or 
conservatism. I use these terms with no offensive meaning." 

Mr. Buchanan's speech then goes into a discussion as to 
whether the public deposits ought to be restored to the State 
banks, and shows that they ought not, because these banks were 
not and never had been safe depositories of the public money. 
More than all that, it gave them a capital upon which to make 
large paper issues, and thus flood the country with means for 
the speculators to use the government money to injure the labor- 
ing classes. These banks, after going on during a period of ex- 
travagant expansion, would fail, and " in such cases," said Mr. 
Buchanan, " what classes of society are most likely to suffer 
from the explosion ? Who do you suppose, Mr. President, held 
the notes of the hundred and sixty-five banks, that proved insol- 
vent, between 1811 and 1830 ? Not the shrewd men of busi- 
ness, nor the keen speculator ; because they snuff the danger 
from afar. It was the honest and industrious classes of society, 
who are without suspicion, and whoso pursuits in life do not 
render them familiar with the secret history of banking. 

" We are now just experiencing another great evil which has 
resulted from extravagant loans and issues, and consequent sus- 
pension of specie payments by banks. The country is now 
deluged with small notes, vulgarly called shin-plasters. They 
are of every form and every denomination between five cents 



SPEECH OX THE SCB-TREASUKT BILL, 231 

and five dollars ; and they are issued by every individual and 
every corporation ^vho think proper. It is impossible for the 
poor man to say he will not take them, for there is scarcely any 
silver change in circulation anywhere. He must receive them 
for his labor or starve. The paper on which these small notes 
are printed is often so bad, and thei are so inartificially got up, 
that it is almost impossible to distitguish between the counter- 
feit and the genuine. To counterfeit then has became a regular 
business, as it has been carried to a great extent. 

" Our currency below live dollars now consists of this com- 
bined mass of genuine and counterfeit shin-plasters, and many 
of the counterfeits are intrinsically of equal value with the 
genuine. Some are payble in one medium and some in another. 
Some are on demand, and others have years to run before they 
reach maturity. The very moment the banks resume specie- 
payments, this mass of illegal and worthless currency will be 
rendered entirely useless. It will fall a dead weight in the 
hands of the holders, and these will be chiefly the very men 
who are least able to bear the loss. A scene of confusion and 
distress will then be presented, which I need not describe. 
Such is one of the effects of extravagant banking." 

Ko one at this day will ciuestion the faithfulness of the above 
picture, and yet we have men who are called great statesmen, 
who labored, mistakingly we must charitably suppose, to fasteu 
upon the people of this country a policy which would have 
constantly rendered us liable to the fluctuation and distress 
which !Mr. Buchanan so truthfully, and without any embeUish' 
ment, describes. 

The speech from which we have made the above extracts, 
then irefers to the bill under discussion, showing that it amount- 
ed to simply this, that to the duties of the existing officers of 
government, who already collect the revenue and disburse it, 
be merely superadded, that of safely keeping and transferring 
the public iponey, according to the exigencies of the govern- 



232 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BCCIIANAN. 

ment during the time that must necessarily intervene between 
its receipt and disbursement. After going into a detailed 
statement of the arguments bearing upon the bill, our indebt- 
edness to foreign countries, Mr. Buchanan concluded as fol- 
lows : 

"But, gentlemen allege that the President has committed 
another grave error, in stating that the foreign debt contracted 
by our citizens was estimated, in March last, at more than 
thirty millions of dollars. This estimate, they say, is below 
the truth some eighty or ninety millions. If it were, this 
would only be, as in the case of the other alleged mistakes, so 
much in favor of the President's argument, not against it. But 
how do they prove this mistake ? By adding to our actual 
foreign debt now due, and payable by the merchants, all foreign 
investments in our stocks, and all the permanent loans which 
have been made in England to the several States and to corpo- 
rations. The bare statement of this fact is sufficient. It is 
evident the President was not estimating the amount of perma- 
nent investments made by foreigners in this country, but the 
actual amount of our commercial debt due in March last, which 
it was necessary to extinguish before our trade could revive. 
This debt may have been thirty-five or forty millions of dollars, 
but from the information communicated by the senator from 
New York (Mr. Tallmadge), a few days ago, that in the 
opinion of the merchants of New York, it was now reduced to 
twelve millions of dollars. I should very much doubt whether 
it at all exceeded thirty millions in March last. 

" IIow cheering the intelligence that our foreign debt has 
been reduced to twelve millions of dollars ! The resources of 
our country are so aljundant, that this debt must very soon be 
extinguished. Our next cotton crop will create a large balance 
in our favor. The foreign exchanges will soon no longer be 
against us, and then the foreign demand for specie will cease. 
Ali sound banks may then with safety resume specie payments. 



SPEECH ON THE SCB-TKEASUKY BILL. 238 

They will have nothint^ to dread, except the MMnt of confidence 
at home. This, I fear, has been greatly increased, at least 
throughout the interior of Pennsylvania, Ijy the refusal of the 
banks in Philadelphia to meet those of New York, even for the 
jnirpose of consulting at what time it was probable specie pay- 
ments might with safety be resumed. I have received numer- 
ous letters on the subject, which all speak the same language. 
This refusal, I feel confident, did not arise from any apprehen- 
sion that these banks were less able to resume specie payments 
than those of their sister city. 

" Mr. Van Buren is not only correct in his statements of fact, 
but by his message, he has forever put to flight the charge of 
non-committalism, of want of decision and energy. He has 
assumed an attitude of moral grandeur before the American 
people, and has shown himself worthy to succeed General 
Jackson, lie has elevated himself much in my own esteem. 
He has proved equal to the trying occasion. Even his political 
enemies who cannot approve the doctrines of the message, ad- 
mire its decided tone, and the ability with which it sustains 
what has been called the new experiment. And why should 
the sound of new experiments in governments grate so harshly 
upon the ears of the senator from Massachusetts ? Was not our 
government itself, at its origin, a new and glorious experiment? 
Is it not now upon its trial ? If it should continue to work as 
it has heretofore done, it will at least secure liberty to the 
human race, and rescue the rights of man, in every clime, from 
the grasp of tyrants. Still it is, as yet, but an exiieriment. 
For its future success it must depend upon the patriotism and 
the wisdom of the American people and the government of 
their choice. I sincerely believe that the establishment of the 
agencies which the bill provides, will exert a most happy in- 
fluence upon the success of our grand experiment, and that it 
will contribute in no small degree to the prosperous working of 
our institutions generally. The message will constitute the 
touchstone of poUtical parties in this country for years to come. 



234 LIFE AJND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAXAN. 

and I shall always be found ready to do battle in support of its 
doctrines, because their direct tendency is to keep the federal 
government within its proper limits, and to maintain the re- 
served rights of the States. To take care of our own money 
through the agency of our own officers, without the employ- 
ment of any banks, whether State or national, will, in my 
opinion, greatly contribute to these happy results ; and, iu 
sustaining this policy, I feel confident I am advocating the true 
interest and the dearest rights of the people." 

Mr. Buchanan's powerful speech was answered both by Mr. 
Webster of Massachusetts, and Mr. Preston of South Carolina. 
It was customary then as now, for the public press to give the 
impression to the country that every democratic speech in Con- 
gress was always crushed by the answer of opponents. Mr. 
Buchanan shortly after the deUvery of his speech referring 
to this peculiaritv remarked : 

" He had not flattered himself," he said, " that the remarks 
which he had made some days ago, in answer to the senator 
from Massachusetts, would have called him out in reply. It 
has, sir, been already reported over the whole country, by a 
portion of the newspaper press, that the blows which I aimed 
at him with a feeble hand, had been repelled by his adamantine 
armor, without leaving the slightest impression. Besides," said 
Mr. B., "I have been utterly prostrated, according to the same 
reports, by the senator from South Carolina (Mr, Preston) 
and so belabored after I was down, that I can scarcely now be 
recognized by my most intimate friends. Under those painful 
circumstances, it affords me a ray of comfort to find that the 
senator from Massachusetts has deemed my argument worthy 
of a studied reply. I hope it may not be presumptuous in me 
to say a few words by way of rejoinder. 

" Heaven forbid that I should be forced to lie down in the 
same bed with the senator fron? Massachusetts, the senator 



SPEECH ON TUE SCB-TREASUKY BILL. Z60 

from South Caroliua (Mr. Calhoun), and the Secretary of the 
Treasury. For a man of peace hke myself, the bed of Pro- 
crustes would be a mercy compared with such fellowship. 
Never were there more ill-assorted and heterogeneous materials 
brought together. If my argument has made the three gentle- 
men lie down together in the same bed, as the senator has 
asserted, there let them lie as best tlicy can ; I beg to be ex- 
cused from becoming a partner with this triple alliance ; con- 
scious that in that event my fate would deserve to be pitied, I 
shall endeavor to support myself alone." 

All the prominent debates at this session took place upon the 
currency question, and such collateral subjects as district banks, 
deposit banks, &c. Although the great measure of the session 
had not been carried yet, the discussion elicited had prepared 
the way for a measure of a similar character. The extra 
session, which had commenced on the 5th of September, ad- 
jom'ucd on the 16th of October. 



236 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANA2* 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Expunging Resolution — Relations with Mexico — A New National Bank — Mr. Bucha* 

nan's Speecli on Pre-emption Rights — The Slavery Question — Resurrection Notes— 
The Independent Treasury. 

The first regular session of the twenty-fifth Congress opened 
on the 4th of December, 1837. Mr. Buchanan, according to 
liis usual custom, was in his seat on the first day of the session. 
A careful scrutiny of the proceedings of Congress will show 
that Mr. Buchanan took a more active pi 't in the business of 
the country than any other senator. lu. Ac present session, 
his name stands as speaking or voting upon more public ques- 
tions than any other senator, Mr. Clay was considered a very 
active member, yet Mr. Buchanan ranks ahead of him in this 
respect. Many pohticians go to Congress with their heads 
filled with a single idea or hobby. Upon this they are always 
ready to make a speech or vote, but they take very little, if 
any, interest in the ordinary and general business of govern- 
ment. Mr. Buchanan, however, never had any specialties ; he 
regarded himself as a senator particularly elected to represent 
the great State of Pennsylvania, and bound by the duties he 
owed to his constituents and to his country at large, to take 
part in all the legislation that came before him, no matter of 
how slight importance it might be considered. In this he showed 
the jealous watchfulness of the true statesman, who cares for 
the interests of even the humblest of the people, and neg- 
lects nothing that appertains to their welfare. 

Only ten days of the session had elapsed before Mr. Bayard 
of Delaware presented a resolution to rescmd the former 



RELATIONS "WITH MEXICO, 237 

" expunging resolution," which had been passed by the pre- 
vious Congress, just as Gen. Jackson was retiring from the 
chair which he had so nobly filled. Mr. Bayard did not pro- 
pose to express any opinion upon the propriety of passing the 
resolution of censure upon Gen. Jackson. lie contended, how- 
ever, that it was WTong to have " exj^ungcd" it from the jour- 
nal, and he announced his resolute determination to set the 
ball in motion, a la Benton, and so keep it until the " expung- 
ing resolution " should be repealed ; and he predicted that he 
should live to see that day arrive. Mr. Buchanan replied to 
him by saying, " that the honorable member from Delaware 
must desire a very long existence in this vale of tears if he 
expected to live until what was asked by the resolution was 
adopted. The senator has been pleased to say he would not 
be willing to die so soon. lie certamly wished the senator 
long life and prosperity ; but to remain until his aim were ac- 
complished, would be to render him miserable, unless he feasted 
on the Mcdean herb to renovate his youth." And such has 
proved to be the fact. No man to increase his popularity would 
be likely now to make a move to replace the stigma upon Gen. 
Jackson's official conduct which the heated exasperations of 
momentary party spite put upon it. 

The relations of this country with Mexico was again a sub- 
ject of debate in this session, and again we find Mr. Buchanan, 
as ever, the resolute defender of his country's honor. In the 
course of a debate upon this subject, Mr. B. traced the conduct 
of the Mexican government towards our citizens, showed how 
tVmerican citizens had been forced to leave the country, that 
the American flag was no protection to them, and that, after 
being insulted and robbed, no satisfaction or apology was 
given. When Mr. Clay suggested that in consideration of the 
deranged state of the currency we had better avoid war, Mr. 
Buchanan replied that, " if the national honor demanded vin- 
dication, he would not be deterred by any such consideration. 
He for one ' would not consent to see American citizens plun- 



238 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES EUCnANxU^. 

dered with impunity.'" It was on this occasion that he 
uttered that sentence which will be as immortal as the mind 
that conceived it : " Millions to defend oar rights, but not a 
cent for tribute." 

Mr. Clay could not give up entirely his favorite scheme of a 
United States Bank, and although the institution had only just 
been fairly crushed by the gigantic exertions of a great man, yet, 
so intent was he upon some institution of a similar character, that 
he brought before Congress in May the plan of a national bank, 
to be located in the city of New York, with a capital of some 
fifty millions of dollars, with Mr. Albert Gallatin at its head. 
Mr. Buchanan met the project of the senator from Kentucky at 
the outset, and said, " that he was rejoiced that the senator 
had come out in a bold and manly manner, and presented his 
project of a national bank. The two great parties of the coun- 
try would now know precisely where they stood. From this 
day the issue would be fairly formed and distinctly presented to 
the people. On the one side there was a national bank, with a 
capital of fifty millions, sustained by the revenues of the govern- 
ment, and enjoying the privilege of having its notes received in 
payment of the public dues ; whilst on the other, we desired 
a separation — a friendly separation — of the business of the 
Treasury from that of all the banks, leaving each of them to its 
own resources, and to perform its own duties, without danger 
of being crushed or controlled by a mammoth institution. We 
wished to part from them in peace, and to remain at peace with 
them, interposing no obstacles in the way of their healthy and 
vigorous action. We leave them to be regulated by the States 
where they belong. He did not fear the final result of such a 
trial before the American people." And why, we ask, did Mr. 
Buchanan not fear the result of this question ? We reply, 
because he had a firm confidence in the judgment and intelli- 
gence of the people, the first sentiment in the heart of every 
true democrat, as it is the first plank in the platform of the 
party. It is sufficient to say, he was not mistaken. 



SPEECH ON PEE-EMPTION KIGHTS. 239 

The pre-emption right of land to actual settlers, is one of the 
most important to the hardy pioneer, of any measure ever 
enacted by our government. It has been the foundation of the 
fortune of many a person who now stands at the head of society, 
for all the noble qualities that can adorn the human character. 
A young man with his wife, and scarcely any wordly effects, 
except it may be a dog and a gun, settles upon the broad prairies^ 
of the West, and after having improved a section of the land, 
and perchance accumulated a part of the money necessary for 
its purchase, is suddenly surprised in his dreams of a comforta- 
ble home by some speculator, who comes along, and purchasing 
his land, assumes the right to dispossess him and seize upon the 
fruits of his hard-earned toil. It is strange that there ever 
were any persons elected to Congress who defended a measure 
which would allow this. Yet such is the fact. While, how- 
ever, there were but few who went to this extent, there were 
many who believed that a distinction ought to be made between 
our own citizens and the industrious emigrant from the old 
world, who, after plowing his weary way through thousands of 
miles of trackless seas like our forefathers, should, when arriv- 
ing upon the fertile fields of the West, be there subjected to the 
ruthless sport of the speculator. It is a gratification of no tri- 
fling character, that we find Mr. Buchanan at this early day 
resolutely condemning that spirit of ostracism that would thus 
place barriers in the way of those who seek a home among 
us, from having the same opportunity of reaping the rew^ardsof 
industry, and of enjoying the advantages of equal laws, after 
they had come so far and braved so many dangers to obtain them. 
The following short speech delivered by Mr. Buchanan on this 
subject, in January, 1838, in reply to Mr. Clay, will be respon- 
ded to by every liberal and true-hearted democrat every- 
where : 

Mr. Buchanan said that, " It was not his intention to go into 
any detailed argument upon the question before the Senate. 



240 LITE AND SEEVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

He would merely state in general terms, tlie reasons why he 
should vote for the bill. This he would do not for the purpose 
of convincing others, but of placuag himself in the position which 
he desu-ed to occupy. 

" It had been repeated over and over again m the course of 
this debate, that the bill before the Senate would confer a 
bounty upon the actual settlers on the pubUc lands, at the ex- 
pense of the people of the United States. He denied that it 
would produce any such effect. These settlers would be com- 
pelled to pay the minimum price of one dollar twenty-five cents 
per acre for their land. Coald the government now obtain 
more for it at public auction, had it remained unsettled ? Let 
the history of the past answer this question. From the 1st of 
January, 1823, until the present day, averaging all the land 
sules which had been made, the result was, that we had received 
two, three, four, five, or at the most, six cents per acre more 
than what the settlers would be obliged to pay under this bill. 
Senators had differed in their statements upon this subject, but 
none of them had contended that the average price upon the 
whole sales exceeded one dollar and thirty-one cents per acre. 
The commissioner of the land office states it to have been one 
dollar and twenty-seven cents and nme-twentieths. The ques- 
tion then was, whether for the prospect, and a hopeless one it 
was, of obtaining six cents per acre more at public auction, we 
should attempt to expel the settlers from their lands, and thus 
by depriving them of a home, inflict the greatest misery and dis- 
tress upon themselves and their families ? 

" Mr. B. said that our past experience ought to have taught 
us that this was a question in which the government had but 
little, if any, pecuniary interest. It was a question between 
the actual settler on the one side, and the organized bands of 
speculators which attended the land sales on the other. It was 
notorious — it had often been establiBhed on this floor — that 
these speculators, acting m concert, had prevented bidding 
above the minimum price, and had purchased our most valuable 



SPI:HCII ox PliE-EMPXlON RIGHTS. 24:1 

lands at a dollar and a quarter per acre. If the settlers should 
not obtain these lands at this price, the speculators v:ould. 
This was the alternative. Turn this question and argue it in 
whatever mode you might, still we come to the same result. 
It was a matter of indifference so far as the Treasury was con- 
cerned, whether you granted these pre-emptions or not. In 
either event the government would neither be benefited nor 
injured. Then he was called upon to decide between the 
actu.il settler, who had spent his time and his labor in cutting 
down the forest and preparing himself a home in the wilderness, 
and the heartless speculator who might be anxious to deprive 
these hardy pioneers of the benefit of their toils and to purchase 
the land which they had improved. He could not hesitate 
upon that subject. Past experience had rendered it certain 
that the United States will never receive more for their laud 
than a cent or two per acre above the minimum price ; and for 
this inconsiderable difference he would not turn off the men 
who had settled upon our public lands, in order that they might 
be monopohzed at the public sales by speculators. Let the 
actual settler have ' the first cut,' and sufficient will remain for 
the companies of speculators who attend the public auctions. 
He had no doubt that in both these modes of sales there had 
been frauds ; but he should always lean to that side which 
would protect the poor man in the possession of the land which 
he had rendered valuable by the sweat of his brow, rather than 
in favor of those who had come from a distance to purchase 
him out of house and home. 

" Mr. B. probably should not have said a word upon the sub- 
ject, had it not been for the amendment which had been offered 
by thd senator from ;N[aryland (Mr. Merrick). This amend- 
ment proposed to make an invidious distinction, which had 
never been made heretofore in our legislation, against foreigners 
who had settled upon the public lands, and had not been natu- 
ralized prior to the first day of December last. Whilst it 
granted p:e-emptions in such cases to our own citi/ens, it 

11 



242 LIFE AND SEIiVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

excluded these foreigners. Why had this change been pro 
I)u«ed in our settled policy ? He had observed with regret that 
attempts were now extensively making throughout the country, 
to excite what was called a native American feeling against 
those who had come from a foreign land to participate in the 
blessings of our free Constitution. Such a feeling was unjust — 
it was ungrateful. In the darkest days of the Revolution, who 
had assisted us in fighting our battles and achieving our inde- 
pendence ? Foreigners ; yes sir, foreigners. He would not say, 
for he did not believe that our hidcpendence could not have 
been established without their aid ; but he would say the 
struggle would have been, longer and more doubtful. After 
the Kevolution, immigration had been encouraged by our policy. 
Throughout the long and bloody wars of Europe which had 
followed the French revolution, this country had ever been an 
asylum for the oppressed of all nations. He trusted that at 
this late day, the Congress of the United States were not about 
to estabhsh, for the first time, such an odious distinction as that 
proposed between one of our citizens, who had settled upon the 
public lands, and his neighbor who had pursued the same 
course under the faith of your previous policy, merely because 
that neighbor had not resided long enough within the United 
States to have become a naturalized citizen. He was himself 
the son of a naturalized foreigner, and perhaps might feel this 
distinction the more sensibly on that account. He was glad 
the yeas and nays had been demanded, that he might record 
his vote against the principle proposed by the amendment." 
******* 
" Wise and practical statesmen would study the actual con- 
dition of the country, and never attempt that which was from 
its nature morally impossible. We ought to yield with a good 
grace to circumstances which we could not control. In what 
situation were we now placed? A very great number of per- 
sons had settled upon the public land since the date of the last 
pre-emption law. They had gone there on the presumption 



Sl'EIXII OX rKE-EMI'TION KIGIIT3. 24:3 

that you would place tlicm upon the same footing' with those 
who had gone before then. You had for years pursued this 
system, aud you had passed no law which indicated any inten- 
tion of abandoning it. Yon had thus, to a certain extent, 
pledged your faith that you would respect the rights which 
might be acquired in this manner. You were now placed in a 
condition that you could not draw back even if you would. In 
that part of Wisconsin, west of Mississippi, called Iowa, there 
were now more than thirty thousand settlers on the public 
lands. They had formed themselves into counties, and erected 
court-houses, and this government had sent them judges. They 
were now a flourishing and prosperous community, under the 
protection of your laws. They had cleared away the forests, 
and erected farm-houses and barns, planted orchards, cultivated 
the laud, and were surrounded by all the necessaries and many 
of the conveniences of life. Could you now expel such an entire 
community from their homes ? The attempt would be vaiu. 
It would cast disgrace upon the government. After an unavail- 
ing effort, it would be abandoned. It might be persisted in 
until civil commotion would be excited, and blood would I "» 
shed. At that point it must end. The moral sense of the 
people of this country would be roused against proceeding any 
further. 

" It is true, that if the whole power of tho United States 
were exerted for such a purpose, we might destroy this happy 
community, and drive them from their homes ; but it would 
never thus be exerted. It is wise, therefore, to submit at once 
to a moral necessity which has been imposed upon you in con- 
sequence of your own conduct. It is true that you may lose a 
cent or two per acre on the price of the land ; but is such a 
loss worth mentioning when compared either with the calamities 
and injustice you would inflict by a rigid adherence to the letter 
of the law, or with the expense which you would incur by send- 
ing an armed force into that country, iu a vain attempt to 
enforce its provisions ? 



244: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

" Ur. B. had been asked by the senator from Kentucky if he 
would compare the hordes of foreign paupers that are con- 
stantly flooding our shores, with the de Kalbs, the Steubens, 
the Lafayettes, and the Pulaskis of the Eevolution ? It was 
easy to ask such a question. He felt a deep and grateful vene- 
ration for the memory of these illustrious men. They were 
leaders of our armies ; but what could they have accompUshed 
without soldiers ? Was it not a fact known to the world, that 
the emigrants from the Emerald Isle — that laud of brave hearts 
and strong arms — had shed their blood freely in the cause of 
our Uberty and independence ? It was now both ungrateful and 
unjust to speak of these people, in the days of our prosperity, 
as hordes of foreign paupers. Such was not the language 
applied to them during the revolutionary war, when they con- 
stituted a large and effective proportion of our armies, 

" The senator had asked if he (Mr. B.) would grant pre- 
emptions to the Hessians ? It was true, they had fought upon 
the wrong side, and were not much entitled to .^ur sympathies 
Still some apology might be made even for fnem. They were 
the slaves of despotic power, and they were sold by their mas- 
ters like cattle, to the British government. They had no will 
of their own, but were under the most abject subjection to petty 
princes, who considered themselves, by the grace of God, born 
to command them. But the condition even of the poor Hes- 
sian has since been greatly improved. The principles of liberty, 
which were sanctified by the American Revolution, are winning 
their way among every civilized people. In no country have 
they made greater progress than among the people of Germany. 
The Hessian of the present day is far different from what his 
fathers were ; and let me tell senators from the West, that the 
best settlers they can have amongst them are the Germans. 
Industrious, honest, and persevering, they make the best 
farmers of our country, while their firmness of character 
qualifies them for defending it against any hostile attacks, 
which may be made by the Indians along our western frontier. 



THE SLAVERY QUESTION. ^545 

As to the hordes of foreigners of which we had heard, ti.^y did 
not alarm him. Any foreigner from any country under tlie sun, 
who, after landing with his family on our Atlantic coast, will 
make his long and weary way into the forests or prairies west 
of the Mississippi, and there, by patient toil, establish a settle- 
ment upon the public lands, whilst he thus manifests his attach- 
ment to our institutions, shows that he is worthy of becoming 
an American citizen. He furnishes us by his conduct the 
surest pledge that he will become a citizen the moment the 
laws of the country permit. In the meantime, so far as my 
vote is concerned, he shall continue to stand upon the same 
footing with citizens, and have his quarter section of land at 
the minimum price." 

The exciting question of slavery again came up at the pre- 
sent session upon some resolutions offered by Mr. Calhoun. Mr. 
Buchanan again stated his position and declared his determina- 
tion, no matter what were the consequences, to give the South 
their constitutional right, on this question, and to resist the 
aggression which was coming from the North. On tliis occasion, 
amid the power which the abolitionists were gaining, and while it 
was yet muttering in the distance, attracting the attention of 
politicians who always began to think that something might yet 
be made out of this new British exotic, Mr. Buchanan uttered 
these memorable words : " I have long since taken my stand, 
and from it I shall not be di-iven. I do not desire to maintain 
myself at home, unless I can do it with a due regard to the 
rights and safety of the South." In the same speech he said : 

" And, if the Union should be dissolved upon the question 
of slavery, what will be the consequences ? An entire non- 
intercourse between its different parts, mutual jealousies, and 
implacable wars. The hopes of the friends of liberty, in every 
clime, would be blasted ; and despotism might regain her em- 
pire over the world. I might present io detail the evils which 



246 LITE AND SERTICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

would flow from disuuion, but I forbear, I shall uo further lift 
the curtain. The scene would be too painful. The good sense 
and sound patriotism of the people of the North, when once 
aroused to the danger, will apply the appropriate remedy. The 
peaceful influence of public opiniou will save the Union. 

" The select committee might report a resolution, which 
would obtain the unanimous vote of the Senate, declaring that 
neither the Congress of the United States, nor any State, nor 
any combination of individuals in any State, has any right to 
mterfere with the existence or regulation of slavery in any 
other State, where it is recognized by law. Even the abolition- 
ists themselves, so far as my knowledge extends, have never 
denied this principlCo It was solemnly announced by the first 
Congress, and it is most clearly the doctrine of the Constitu- 
tion, that instrument expressly recognizes the right to hold 
slaves as property in States where slavery exists. - This, then, 
is not a question of general morality, affecting the consciences 
of men, but it is a question of constitutional law. When the 
States became parties to the federal compact, they entered 
into a solemn agreement that property in slaves should be as 
inviolable as any other property. Whilst the Constitution 
endures, no human power, except that of the State within 
which slavery exists, has any right to interfere with the 
question. An attempt on the part of any other State, or of 
Congress, to violate this right, would be a palpable violation 
of the Constitution. Congress might as well undertake to 
interfere with slavery under a foreign government, as in any 
of the States where it now exists. I feel confident that there 
would not be a single dissenting voice raised in the Senate 
against the adoption of such a resolution as I have suggested. 

" A second resolution might assert the principle that Con- 
gress have no right under the Constitution to prohibit the 
transfer of slaves by a citizen of one State to a citizen of an- 
other State, when slavery is recognized by the laws of both. 
The power " to regulate commerce among the several States," 



EE6UKKKCTI0N NOTES. 247 

cau never be construed into a power to abolisli this comracrce. 
Kegulatiou is one t'aiiig, destruction another As loii"; as slaves 
continue to be property nndei' the Constitution. Congress might 
as well undertake to proliibit the people of ^lassacnusetts from 
selling their domestic manufactures in South Carolina, as lo 
prohibit the master of a slave in Virginia from disposing of him 
to his neighbor in North Carolina. Both cases rest upon the 
same principle of constitutional law. The power to regulate 
does not imply the power to destroy. I believe that such a 
resolution would encounter no serious opposition in the Senate. 
" Again, a third resolution might be adopted in regard to 
the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, which 
would unite nearly every suffrage in the Senate. This District 
was ceded to the United States by Virginia and Maryland. 
At the date of the cession, they were both slaveholding States, 
and they continue to be so at this day. Does any man sujjpose 
for a single moment, that they would liave ever made tlii.«? 
cession, if they had supposed that Congress would abolish 
slavery in this District of ten miles square, whilst it existed in 
their surrounding territories ? So long as it continues in these 
two States, it would be a violation of tne implied faith which 
we pledged to them by the acceptance of the cession, to con- 
vert this very cession into the means of injuring and destroymg 
their peace and security." 

A matter of no small importance came before Congress in 
relation to the old United States Bank. It could not be con- 
tent to die gracefully and resignedly after it had received its 
fatal blow, but by disobeying the act of Congress it sought to 
perpetuate its existence by proxy, and the Pennsylvania Bank 
of the United States having been recently re-chartered, the old 
institution, instead of winding np its affairs, as it was bound 
to do, made an assignment of all its effects and business to the 
-V'liiladelphia concern. This re-issued the notes of the old bank, 
and hence the introduction into Congress of a bill to prohibit 



24:8 LIFE AND eERVICES CF JAMES BUCHANAKT. 

the circulatiou of these "resurrection notes" as they were 
called. Mr. Buchanan made a long and exeeediugly able 
speech upon this bill, in the beginning of which he referred 
to the chartering of the Pennsylvania Bauk of the United 
States, declaring that whatever might be his opinion in regard 
to the policy of that measure, he had no right to discuss it 
upon the floor of the United States Senate. It was a state 
affair with which Congress had nothing to be. 

" As I am on the floor, however," said Mr. Buchanan, " I 
shall proceed to discuss the merits of the bill now before the 
Senate, It proposes to mflict a fine not exceeding ten thou- 
sand dollars, or imprisonment for not less than one or more 
than five years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the dis- 
cretion of the court, upon those who shall be convicted under 
its provisions. Against whom does it denounce these penalties ? 
Against directors, officers, trustees, or agents of any corpora- 
tion created by Congress, who, after its term of existence is 
ended, shall re-issue the dead notes of the defunct corporation, 
and push them into the circulation of the country, in violation 
of its original charter. The bill embraces no person, acts upon 
no person, interferes with no person, except those whose duty 
it is, under the charter of the old bank, to redeem and 
cancel the old notes as they are presented for payment, and 
who, in violation of this duty, send them again into circula- 
tion. 

" This bill inflicts severe penalties, and before we pass it, we 
ought to be entirely satisfied, first that the guilt of the indivi- 
duals who shall violate its provisions is sufficiently aggravated 
to justify the punishment ; second, that the law will be politic 
in itself ; and tliird, that we possess the constitutional power 
to enact it. 

" First, then, as to the nature and aggravation of the offence. 
The charter of the late Bank of the United States expired 
by its own limitation, on the 3d of March, 1836. After that 



BPKKCH ON KESURKECTION KOTES. 249 

(lay, it could issue uo notes, discouut uo ucw paper, and exer- 
cise none of the usual functions of a bank For two years 
'•.hereafter, until the 3d of March, 1838, it was merely permit- 
ted to use its corporate name and capacity ' for the purpose of 
suits for the final settlement and liquidation of tlie affairs and 
accounts of the corporation, and for the sale and disposition of 
their estate, real, personal, and mixed, l)ut not for any other 
purpose, or in any other manner whatsoever.' Congress had 
granted the bank no power to make a voluntary assignment of 
its property to any corporation or any individual. On the con- 
trary, the plain meaning of the charter was, that all the affairs 
of the mstitution should be wound up by its own president and 
directors. It received no authority to delegate this important 
trust to others ; and yet what has it done? On the 2d 
day of March, 1836, one day before the charter had expired, 
this very president and these directors assigned all the pro- 
perty and effects of the old corporation to the Pennsylvania 
Bank of the United States. On the same day, this latter bank 
accepted the assignment, and agreed to ' pay, satisfy, and dis- 
charge all debts, contracts, and engagements, owing, entered 
Into, or made by this (the old) bank, as the same shall become 
due and payable, and fulfill and execute all trusts and obliga- 
tions whatsoever arising from its transactions, or from any of 
them, so that every creditor or rightful claimant shall be fully 
satisfied.' By its own agreement it has thus expressly created 
itself a trustee of the old bank. But this was not necessary to 
confer upon it that character. By the bare act of accepting 
the assignment, it became responsible, undej^ the laws of the 
land, for the performance of all the duties and trusts required 
by the old charter. Under the circumstances, it cannot make 
the slightest pretences of any want of notice. 

"Having assumed this responsibility, the duty of the uow 
bank was so plain, that it could not have been mistaken. It 
had a double character to sustain. Under the charter from 
Pennsylvania, it became a new banking corporation, whilst, 

11* 



2,^0 LIFE AND SEEVICP:S OF JAMES r.CCHAN^N. 

ander the assignment from the old bans, it became a trustee to 
sv-iiid up the concerns of that institution under the act of Con- 
gress. These two characters were in their nature separate and 
distinct, and never ought to have been blended. For each of 
these purposes it ought to have kept a separate set of books. 
Above all, as the privilege of circulating bank notes, auc thus 
creating a paper currency, is that function of a bank which 
most deeply and vitally affects the community, the new bank 
ought to have cancelled or destroyed all the notes of the old 
bank, which it found in its possession on the 4th of March, 
1836, and ought to have redeemed the remainder at its counter, 
as they were demanded by the holders, and then destroyed 
them. This obligation no senator has attempted to doubt or 
deny. But what was the course of the bank ? It has grossly 
violated both the old and the new charter. It at once declared 
■ndependence of both, and appropriated to itself all the notes 
of the old bank, not only those which were then still in circula- 
tion, but those which had been redeemed before it accepted the 
assignment, and were then lying dead in its vaults. I have 
now before me the first monthly statement which was ever made 
by the bank to the Auditor General of Pennsylvania. It is 
dated on the 2d of April, 1836, and signed, J. Cowperthwaite, 
acting cashier. In this statement the bank charges itself with 
'notes issued,' $36,620,420 16, whilst in its cash account, 
along with its specie and the notes of State banks, it credits 
itself with ' notes of the Bank of the United States and offices ' 
on hand, $16,T94,713 11. It thus seized these dead notes to 
the amount of $16,*t94,113 11, and transformed them into cash, 
whilst the difference between those on hand and those issued, 
equal to $19,825,106 45, was the circulation which the new 
bank boasted it had inherited from the old. It thus, in an 
instant appropriated to itself, and adopted as its own circula- 
tion, all the notes and all the illegal branch drafts of the old 
bank, which were then in existence. Its boldness was equal to 
its utter disregard of law. In this first return it not only pro- 



SPEECH ON EESURKECTION NOTES. 251 

clain'cd to the logislatm'C and people of Pcnnsy/vania that it 
had disregarded its trust as assignee of the old bank, by seizing 
upon the whole of the old circula*^^ion, and converting it to its 
own use, but that it had violated one of the fundamental pro- 
visions of its new charter, 

" In Pennsylvania, we have for many years past deemed it 
wise to increase the specie-basis of our paper circulation. We 
know that, under the universal law of currency, small notes, 
and gold and silver coin of the same denomination, cannot 
circulate together The one will expel the other A.ccordingly, 
it is now long since we prohibited our banks from issuing notes 
of a less denomination than five dollars. The legislature which 
re-chartered the bauK of the United States, deemed it wise to 
proceed one step farther in regard to this mammotn institution, 
and in that opinion I entirely concur. Accordingly, by the 
sixth fundamental article of its charter, they declare that ' the 
notes and bills which shall be issued by order of said corpora- 
tion, or under its authority, shall be binding upon it, and those 
made payable to order shall be assignable by endorsement, but 
none shall be issued of a denomination less than ten dollars.' 

" Now, it is well known to every senator within the sound of 
ray voice, that a large proportion of these resurrection-notes, 
as they have been aptly called, which have been issued and 
re-issued by order of the new bank, are of the denomination of 
five dollars. Here, then, is a plain, palpable violation, not only 
of the spirit but of the very letter of its charter. The Senate 
wUl perceive that the bank, as if to meet the very case, is not 
merely prohibited from issuing its own notes, signed by its own 
president and cashier, of a denominatici les^than ten dollars, 
but this prohibition is extended to the notes or bills which shall 
be issued by its order or under its authority. If I should eveu 
be mistaken in this construction of the law, and I believe lam 
not, it will only follow, that its conduct has not amounted to a 
legal forfeiture of its charter. In both cases, the violation of 
the sphit of its charter, and the contravention of the wise policy 



252 LITE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCnANAN. 

of the legislature, are equally glaring. So entirely did the bank 
make these dead notes its cwn peculiar circulation, that until July 
last, in its monthly return to the Auditor-General of Pennsyl- 
vania, the new and the old notes are blended together, without 
any distinction. In that return we are, for the first time, 
officially informed that the bank had ever issued any notes of 
its own 

" And here an incident occurs to me which will be an ad- 
ditional proof how lawless is this bank, whenever obedience to 
its charter 'interferes in the least degree with its policy. By the 
tenth fundamental article of that charter, it is required ' to make 
to the Auditor General monthly returns of its condition, show- 
ing the details of its onerations, according to the forms of the 
returns the bank of the United States, now makes to the 
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, or according to 
such form as may be established by law.' From no idle curi- 
osity, but from a desire to ascertain, as far as possible, the con- 
dition of the banks of the country, and the amount of their cir- 
culation, I requested the Auditor General, during the late special 
session of Congress in September, to send me the return of the 
bank for that month. In answer, he informed me, under date 
of the 22d of September, that the bank had not made any 
return to his office since the 15th of the preceding May. Thus, 
from the date of the suspension of specie payments, until some 
time after the 22d of September last, how long I do not know, 
a period during which the public mind was most anxious on the 
subject, the bank put this provision of its charter at defiance. 
Whether it thus omitted its duty, because at the date of the 
suspension of speRe payments it had less than a million and a 
half of specie in its vaults, I shall not pretend to determine. If 
this were the reason, I have no doubt that it sent to the 
Auditor General all the intermediate monthly returns on the 
2d of October, 183t, because at that period it had increased its 
gold and silver to more than three millions of dollars. 

" In order to illustrate the enormity of the offence now pro- 



SPEECH ON RKSUKKKCTION NOTES. 253 

posed to be puuislicd, senators have instituted several compari- 
sons. No case which they have imagined equals the offence as 
H actually exists. Would it not, says one gentleman, be a fla- 
grant breach of trust for an executor intrusted with the settle- 
ment of his testator's estate, to re-issue, and again put in circu^ 
lation for his own benefit, the bills of exchange or promissory 
notes which he had found among the papers of the deceased, 
and which had been paid and extinguished in his lifetime ? I 
answer, that it would. But, in that case, the imposition upon 
the community would necessarily be limited, whilst the means 
of detection would be ample. The same may be observed in 
regard to the case of the trustee, which has been suggested. 
What comparison do these cases bear to that of the conduct of 
the bank ? The amount of its re-issues of these dead notes of 
its testator, is many millions. Their circulation is co-extensive 
with the Union, and there is no possible means of detection. 
No man who receives this paper can tell whether it belongs to 
that class which ^he new bank originally found dead in its vaults, 
or to that which it has since redeemed and re-issued, in violation 
of law, or to that which has remained circulating lawfully in the 
community, and has never been redeemed since the old charter 
expired. There is no earmark upon these notes. It is impossi- 
ble to distinguish those which have been illegally re-issued from 
the remainder. 

" I can imagine but one case which would present anything 
like a parallel to the conduct of the bank. In October last, we 
authorized the issue of $10,000,000 of treasury notes, and 
directed that when they were received in payment of the public 
dues, they should not be re-issued, but ho cancelled. Now, sup- 
pose the Secretary of the Treasury had happened to be the 
president of a bank in this district, and, in that character, had 
re-issued these dead treasury notes, which he ought to have can- 
celled, and again put them into circulation, in violation of the 
law, then a case would exist which might be compared with 
that now before the Senate. If such a case should ever occur, 



254: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHAKAN. 

would not the secretary at once be unpeacLed ; and is there a 
senator upon this floor who would not pronounce him guilty ? 
The pecuniary injury to the United States might be greater in 
the supposed than in the actual case, but the degree of moral 
guilt would be the same. 

" Whether it be politic to pass this law is a more doubtful 
question. Judging from past experience, the bank may openly 
violate its provisions with impunity. It can easily evade them 
by sending packages of these old notes to the South and South- 
west, by its agents, there to be re-issued by banks or individuals 
in its confidence. There is one fact, however, from which I am 
encouraged to hope that this law may prove effectual. No man 
OD this floor has attempted to justify, or even to palliate, the 
conduct of the bank. Its best friends have not dared to utter 
a single word in its defence against this charge. The moral 
influence of their silence, and the open condemnation of its 
conduct by some of them, may induce the bank to obey the 
law. 

" I now approach the question, do Congress possess power 
under the Constitution to pass this bill ? la other words, have 
we power to restrain the trustees of our ov>"n bank from rc-issu- 
ing the old notes of that institution, which have already been 
redeemed, and ought to be destroyed ? Can there be a doubt 
of the existence of this power? The bare statement of the 
question seems to me sufficient to remove every difficulty. It 
is almost too plain for argument. I should be glad if any 
gentleman would even prove this power to be doubtful. 
Then even I should refrain from its exercise. I am a State 
rights man, and in favor of a strict construction of the Consti- 
tution. The older I grow, and the more experience I ac- 
quire, the more deeply rooted does this doctrine become in my 
mind. I consider a strict construction of the Constitution 
necessary not only to .the harmony which ought to exist be- 
tween the Federal and State governments, but to the perpetua- 
tion of the Union. I shall exercise no power which I do not 



SPEECH ON KESURRECTIOM K0TE3. 253 

consider clear. I call upou gentlemen, Ihcrcforc, to break 
their determined silence upon this subject, and convince me 
even that the existence of the power is doubtful. If they do, 
I pledge myself to vote against tlie passage of the bill. 

" If this power could only be maintained by some of the 
arguments advanced by the friends of the bill in the early part 
of this discussion, it never should receive my vete. Principles 
were then avowed scarcely less dangerous and unsound than 
the principle on which the senator from Vermont (Mr. Pren- 
tiss) insists that the friends of the bill must claim this power. 
He contends that it does not exist at all, unless it be under that 
construction of the Constitution advocated by his friend from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Webster), which would give to Congress 
power over the whole paper currency of the country, under 
the coining and commercial powers of the Constitution. The 
senator from Connecticut (Mr. Niles) was the first in this de- 
bate who presented in bold relief the principles on which this 
bill can securely rest. 

" Neither shall I dodge the question, as some senators have 
done, by taking shelter under the pretext that it is a question 
for the judiciary to decide whether the general language of 
the bill be applicable to the officers of the Bank of the United 
States, under the Pennsylvania charter. We all know that it 
was intended to embrace these. Indeed, it was their conduct, 
and that alone, which called this bill into existence. It is 
true that the provisions of the bill extend to all corporations 
created by Congress ; but it is equally certain that had it 
not been intended to apply to the Bank of the United States, 
it would have been confined in express terms to the District 
of Columbia, where alone corporations now exist under the 
authority of Congress. Away with all such sul)terfuges ; I 
will have none of them. 

" Suppose, sir, that at any time within the period of two 
years thus allowed by the charter to the president and direc- 
tors to make up its affairs, these officers, created under your 



256 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

owQ authority, had attempted to throw thirty millions of dol- 
lars of their dead paper money again into circulation, would 
you have had no power to pass a law to prevent and to punish 
such an atrocious fraud ? Would you have been compelled to 
look on and patiently submit to such a violation of the charter 
which you had granted ? Have you created an institution and 
expressly limited its term of existence which you cannot destroy 
after that term has expired ? This would indeed be a political 
hydra, which must exist forever, without any Hercules to de- 
stroy it. It you possess no power to restrain the circulation 
of the notes of the old bank, they may continue to circulate for 
ever, in defiance of the power which called them into existence. 
You have created that which you have no power to destroy, 
although the law which gave it birth limited the term of its 
existence. Will any senator contend that during these two 
years allowed by the charter for winding up the concerns of 
the bank, we possessed no power to restrain its president and 
directors from re-issuing these old notes ? There is no man on 
this floor bold enough to advance such a doctrine. This point 
being conceded, the power to pass the present bill follows as a 
necessary consequence. 

" If the president and directors of the old bank could not 
evade our authority, the next question is, whether by assigning 
the property of the corporation to a trustee the day before 
the charter expired, and delivering up to him the old notes 
which ought to have been cancelled, they were able to cut this 
trustee loose from the obligations which had been imposed 
upon them by the charter, and from the authority of Congress. 
Vain and impotent indocd would this government be, if its 
authority could be set at naught by such a shallow contrivance. 
No, sir ; the fountain cannot ascend beyond its source. The 
assignee in such a case is not released from any obligation 
which the assignor assumed by accepting the original charter. 
In regard to Congress, the trustee stands in the same situation 
with the president and directors of the old bank. We have 



SPKECn ON RESURRECTION NOTES. 257 

the same power to compel liim to wind up the coucerns of the 
bauk according to the charter, that we might have exercised 
ag-ainst those from whom he accepted the assignment. The 
question is too phiin for argument." 

Mr. Buchanan at tliis point in his speech went into a very 
able argument to show the causes of the suspension of specie 
payments by the banks of the country. lie also noticed the 
charge that had been made that the democratic party were op- 
posed to all banks, and in favor of a pure metallic currency, 
lie denied this, and again stated that all they wanted was to 
separate the business of the government from that of the banks, 
not to reuder them hostile to each other. " Until that propi- 
tious day shall arrive," said Mr. Buchanan, " we shall be for- 
ever agitated by the connection of the currency with our mis- 
erable party politics. Political panics, political pressures, 
charges against the government for exercising an improper in- 
fluence over the banks, and charges against the banks for inter- 
fering in the politics of the country; all, all which have kept us 
in a state of constant agitation for the last seven years, will 
continue to exist, and will be brought into action upon every 
successive election of President and Vice-President." In con- 
cluding this truly great speech, Mr. Buchanan said — 

" In conclusion, permit me to remark, that the people of the 
United States have abundant cause for the deepest gratitude 
towards that great and glorious man now in retirement, for 
preventing the re-charter of the Bauk of the United States. 
He is emphatically the man of the age, and has left a deeper 
and more enduring impress upon it than any individual of our 
country. Still, in regard to the bank, he performed but half 
his work. For its completion we arc indebted to the president 
of the bank. Had the bank confined itself, after it had accept- 
ed the charter from Pennsylvania, to its mere banking and 
financial operations — had it exerted its power to regulate the 



258 LITE AKD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAKAN. 

domestic exchanges of the country — and above all, had it taken 
the lead in the resumption of specie payments, a new bank, 
Phoenix-like, might have arisen from the ashes of the old. That 
danger, from present appearances, has now passed away. The 
open defiance of Congress by the bank, the laws of the country 
over and over again violated — its repeated atttempts to inter- 
fere in the party politics of the day — all, all have taught the 
danger of such a vast moneyed corporation. Mr. Biddle 
has finished the work which General Jackson only commenced. 

" Not one particle of personal hostility towards that gentle- 
man has been mingled in my discussion of the question. On 
the contrary, as a private gentleman, I respect him , and my 
personal intercourse with him, though not frequent, has been ot 
the most agreeable character. I am always ready to do justice 
to his great and varied talents. I have spoken of the public 
conduct of the bank over which he presides, with the freedom 
and boldness which I shall always exercise in the performance 
of my pubUc duties. It is the president of the bank, not the 
man, that I have assailed. It is the nature of the institution, 
over which he presides, that has made him what he is. 
Like all other men, he must yield to his destiny. The pos- 
session of such vast and unhmitcd power, continued for a long 
period of years, would have turned the head of almost any other 
man, and have driven him to as great excesses. 

" In vain you may talk to me about paper restrictions in the 
charter of a bank of sufficient magnitude to be able to crush 
the other banks of the country. When did a vast moneyed 
monopoly ever regard the. law, if any great interest of its own 
stood in the way ? It will then violate its charter, and its own 
power will secure it immunity. It well knows that in its destruc- 
tion the ruin of hundreds of thousands would be involved, and 
therefore it can do almost what it pleases. The history of the 
bank 'for several years past has been one continued history of 
violated laws, and of attempts to interfere in the politics of the 
countr". Create another bank, and place any other man at its 



e\AVcn ON RESURRECTION NOTES. 259 

hi»«}, ttmi • CO r'^C'Jv will be the same. Sucli au institution 
will always bereafUn prove too strong for the government ; 
because we cannot a^^-au expect to see, at least iu our day, 
another Andrew Jacksorx In the presidential chair. On the 
other hand, should such « Lank, wielding the moneyed power 
of the country, form an a.'l;a\.cc with the political power, and 
that is the natural position of i^ie parties, their combined influ- 
ence will govern the Union, ard liberty might become an empty 
name." 

This speech of Mr. Buchanan ^^hs probably one of the most 
effective he ever delivered. It h't a deadly blow at Mr. Clay's 
favorite scheme of a new national bu^jk ; and scarcely had Mr, 
Buchanan taken his seat before Mr. C. sprung to his feet, and 
replied in one of his most happy improiiiptu efforts. After Mr. 
Clay had concluded, Mr. Buchanan immediately returned the 
compliment in a good-natured, graceful rejoinder, and said " he 
had never enjoyed many triumphs, and therefore he prized the 
more the one he had won this day. He had forced the honor- 
able senator from Kentucky (Mr. Clay) to break that deter- 
mined silence that had hitherto sealed his hps on the subject 
of this bill. Thus," said Mr. B., " I have adorned my brow 
with a solitary sprig of laurel. Kot one word was he to utter 
upon the present occasion. This he had announced publicly. 
(Mr. Clay dissented.) I thought," resumed Mr. B., "that he 
!aad announced the other day his determination not to debate 
the question, and stated the reason therefor. (Mr. Clay 
explained.) Well," said Mr. Buchanan, "the senator did 
intend to address the Senate on the subject, and the only sprig 
of laurel which I ever expected to win from him has already 
withered. Immediately after I had taken my seat he sprung 
to his feet, and has made one of his best speeches, for it 
belongs to the character of his mind to make his ablest efforts 
with the least preparation. I will venture to say that he had 
not intended to make the speech when he entered the Senate 



260 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAIklES BUCHANAN. 

chamber this morning. (Mr. Clay admitted this to be the 
fact.) Then," said Mr. Buchanan, " I have succeeded, and ray- 
sprig of laurel is again green." -Mr. Buchanan continued at 
some length in reply to Mr. Clay, defending the bill under con- 
sideration, and predicting that the embarrassment in financial 
affairs under which they were then laboring would soon be dis- 
l^elled. " Even at the risk of being called a false prophet," said 
Mr. B., " I can prophesy nothing but good." 

The Independent Treasury Bill came before Congress at this 
session, and to Mr. Buchanan is the country indebted for the 
idea upon which our present admirable system of disbursing 
the revenue is founded. He was earnestly desirous of com- 
pleting the separation of the banks from the government, and 
although he had been defeated at the extra session upon the 
Sub-treasury Bill, yet he felt it the duty of Congress to devise 
some plan to meet the proposed requirements. Some friends 
of the administration began to falter, and to fear they were 
carrying things too. far. Not so Mr. Buchanan. With a 
clear conception of the apphcation of democratic truth to this 
question, he determined never to cease until the measure was 
accomplished. He was destined, however, to be defeated at 
this session, though eventually he had the satisfaction to see 
the principle he advocated triumphant ; and it now stands the 
law of the land, with not a person who dares to raise his voice 
for its repeal. Such is one of the beneficent conquests that 
the democratic party has achieved. Mr, Buchanan declared 
that the adoption of the measure would bring quiet and har- 
mony to the country upon the question of the currency. And 
who shall say that he was mistaken ? Has not experience, the 
only true test of all principles, proved the accuracy of his pre- 
diction, and thus placed upon the brow of James Buchanan 
the civic wreath of that far-seeing and profound statesmanship, 
which comprehends, as if by unerring intuition, the wants of hia 
country and the interests of the people ? 



mXEKFEKENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICERS IN ELECTIONS. 261 



CHAPTER XV. 

Twemy-fiflh Congress — The Last Session— Interference of Federal Officers in ElecUoni 
— Mr. Buchanan's Speech. 

T]ii5 tiiird, or second regular session of the Twenty-fiftli 
Congress commenced on the 3d of December, 1838. A num- 
ber of important matters were discussed, among which were 
the graduation of the prices of the public lands, our civil and 
diplomatic policy, the Maine Boundary question, and the inter- 
ference of federal officers in elections, in all of which Mr. 
Buclianau took an active and leading part. His great speech 
of this session was upon the latter bill. Probably there never 
was an act introduced into Congress which contained so much 
of the spirit of ancient federalism as this measure to prevent, 
as it was termed, the interference of the federal officers in 
elections. Mr. Buchanan met it with his most indignant con- 
demnation. He had never favored a single measure for the 
oppression of any class or portion of the people, neither did he 
believe that because a man accepted a trifling office from the 
government, he should, on that account, be deprived of the 
freedom of speech, which belongs as an inalienable right to 
every American citizen. It seems strange that such a measure, 
one that embraced all the odious features o.^' the old sedition 
law, could have been proposed in the Senate of the United 
States only fifteen years ago, and advocated by leading senat- 
ors. Yet such is the fact. Mr. Buchanan made in opposition 
to it one of the best speeches of his life. He showed in this 
effort the same instinctive regard for equal rights, which has 



262 LITE AND SEEVICE8 OF JA3IES BCCHANAI^. 

been the distinguisliiug feature of bis whole political career 
We make copious extracts from this eloquent and triumphan 
vindication of the right of each and every citizen to express hi. 
opinions in regard to the affairs of the government to which lu 
owes allegiance. The following extract gives the openinf 
portion : 

" Mr. President : The question raised for discussion by th( 
bill now before the Senate, is very simple in its character. This 
bill proposes to punish, by a fine of five hundred dollars — the 
one moiety payable to the informer, and the other to the United 
States — and by a perpetual disabihty- to hold office under the 
United States, any officer of this government below the rank 
of a district attorney, who ' shall by word, message, or writ- 
ing, or in any other manner whatsoever, endeavor to persuade 
any elector to give, or dissuade any elector from giving, his 
vote for the choice of any person to be elector of President 
and Vice-President of the United States, or to be a senator 
or representative in Congress, or to be a governor or heutenant- 
governor, or senator or representative within any State of the 
Union, or for the choice of any person to serve in any public 
office established by the law of any of the States.' The officers 
of the United Stales against whom the penalties of this bill are 
denounced, consist of marshals and their deputies, postmasters 
and their deputies, receivers and registers of land ofBces and 
their deputies and clerks, surveyors general of the public lands 
and their deputies and assistants, collectors, surveyors, naval 
officers, weighers, gaugers, appraisers, or other officers or per- 
sons concerned or employed in the charging, collecting, levying, 
or managing the customs or any branch thereof ; and engineers, 
officers, or agents, employed or concerned in the execution or 
superintendence of any of the public works. 

" The senator from Kentucky (Mr. Crittenden) before he 
commenced his remarks, moved to amend the bill by striking 
from it the pecuniary penalty and perpetual disabUity agamst 



INTEKFEKENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICEIlS IN ELECTIONS- 2<>3 

these officers, and substituting- in their stead, tlie penalty of a. 
removal trom office by tlie President, upon the jjroduction of 
evidence satisfactory to him that any of them had been guilty 
of the offence. 

"Now, for myself (said Mr. B ), I shall not vote for this 
amendment. I will not take advantage of the amiable weak- 
ness of my friend from Kentucky, in yielding to the solicitation 
of others that which his own judgment approved. I will more 
especially not give such a vote because the proposed amend- 
ment makes no change in the principle of the bill. There is a 
beautiful harmony and consistency in its provisions as it came 
fresh from its author which ought to be preserved. I shall not 
assist in marrying any of its fair proportions. Let it remain 
in its perfect original form, and let his friends upon this floor 
come up to the baptismal font and act as its sponsors, and let 
its avowed principles be recognized as the estabhshed doctrines 
of the political church to which they are all devoted. No sir, 
no ; if a village postmaster should dare to exercise the freedom 
of speech, guaranteed to him by an antiquated instrument, called 
the Constitution of the United States, and have the audacity 
' to endeavor to persuade any elector ' to vote for Martin Van 
Buren, or what would be a much more aggravated offence, dis- 
suade any g •)od whig from voting for the other distinguished 
senator from Kentucky (Mr. Clay), a mere forfeiture of his 
office would bear no just proportion to the enormity of the 
crime. Let such a daring criminal be fined five hundred dollars; 
let him be disqualified forever from holding any office under 
the government; and let him be pointed at as a man of blasted 
reputation all the days of his life. With honest Dogberry in 
the play of ' Much ado about Nothing,' I pronounce the offence 
to be ' fiat burglary as ever was committed." 

" There is another reason why I shall vote against the 
amendment. An issue has been fairly made between the sena- 
tor from Kentucky and my friend from New Jersey (Mr. Wall), 
who, from what we have heard in the course of this debate, 



264 LIFE AND SEKYICES OF JAMES EUCHANAIT. 

has but a few shattered planks left on which he can escape 
from a total shipwreck of his fair fame. In mercy to him I 
would not remove any of them. Let him have a chance for his 
life. He has dared to make a report against the bill 'm its 
original form, as it was referred to the committee of which he 
is the chairman, and for this cause has encountered all the 
withering denurciations of the senators from Kentucky and 
Virginia (Messrs. (Jrittenden and Eives). In justice to him, 
the aspect of the question should not now be changed. Let us. 
then, have the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill, 
against which his report is directed. 

"It would seem almost unnecessary to discuss the question, 
whether this bill be constitutional or not, as the senator from 
Kentucky, throughout the whole course of his argument, never 
once attempted to point to any clause of the Constitution on 
which it could be supported. It is true that he did cite some 
precedents in our legislation, which he supposes to have a bear- 
ing on the subject, but which I shall undertake to prove, here- 
after, are wholly inapplicable. The senator from Virginia (Mr. 
Kives), has gone further into the argument, and has attempted 
to prove that this bill is constitutional. At the proper time, I 
shall endeavor to furnish a proper answer to his remarks. By- 
the-bye, this Constitution is a terrible bugbear. Whilst a 
member of the other house, I once heard an old gentleman ex- 
claim, when it was cited against one of his favorite measm-es, 
" what a vast deal of good it prevents us from doing I" After 
this bill shall have passed, it will be a bugbear no longer, so 
far as the freedom of speech or the press is concerned. It will 
not, then, alarm even poUtical children. 

" The gentlemen have a precedent for their bill. Yes, sir, 
they have a precedent in the sedition law, but it does not go far 
enough for their purpose. That law, which is the only true 
precedent on which this bill can be founded, and on which 
alone it can be sustained, permitted every man to write and to 
pubHfih what ho pleases concerning pubUc men and pubUc 



INTiaiFICRENCE OF FKDKUAL OFFICICKS IN ELECTIONS. 265 

measures, auJ only held him responsible iu case his charges 
should prove to be false. But this bill is a gag-law. It goes 
to the fouutain. It prohibits the oilicer not only from writing, 
but from speaking anything good, bad, or indifferent, whether 
true or false, ou any subject whatever, whicli may affect any 
ponding election from that of a President down to a constable. 
It has a much broader sweep than the sedition law, which did 
not interfere with the liberty of speech, however, much it may 
have abridged the freedom of the press. Indeed, among the 
jnore enlightened despotisms of Europe, I know not one which 
proliibits the freedom of speech on all public subjects ; it is 
only in free aud enlightened America that we propose actually 
to insert the gag. The sedition law was bad enough, God knows, 
but it extended only to the use of the pen, not to that of the 
tongue. There is, therefore, no parallel between the two cases. 
" Had it not been for the existence of the sedition law, I 
should have supposed it to be impossible that there could have 
been two opinions in regard to the utter unconstitutionality of 
this bill. The Constitution, in language so plain as to leave no 
room for misconstruction, declares, that * Congress shall make 
no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.' The 
rule is universal. There is no exception. The bill proposes 
not only to abridge, but utterly to destroy, the freedom of 
speech and of the press ; to interdict their use altogether to the 
enumerated officers on all questions touching the election of 
any ofQcer of the Federal or State government. A plain maa 
would naturally suppose that, barely to state the contradiction 
between the Constitution and this bill was to decide the ques- 
tion. Not so ; an ingenious aud astute lawyer, iu favor of a 
liberal construction of that instrument, can, by inference and, 
ingenuity, confer powers upon Congress in direct violation both 
of its letter aud its spirit, and of which its framers never once 
dreamed. Such was the power to pass the sedition law. That 
law engrafted one limitation upon the freedom of the press. It 
in effect, changed the meaoing of the general terms, ' Cougrens 

12 



266 I-IFE AND SEEVrCES OF JA:SIF.3 BUCHANxVN. 

shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the 
press,' and excepted from their operation any law which might 
ba passed to punish libels against the President, the govern- 
ment, or either house of Congress. The present bill, in prin- 
ciple at least, proceeds much farther. It excepts from the 
o-eneral prohibition of the Constitution the power of punishing 
all persons holding offices under the government of the United 
States, who shall dare either to speak or to write at all on 
questions which may affect the result of any election. This 
interpolation must be inserted, before gentlemen can show any 
power to pass the present bill They cannot advance one step 
in their argument without it. This Constitution can never be 
construed according to the meaning of its framers, but by men 
of plain, well informed, and practical judgment. Common 
sense is its best expounder. Ingenious men, disposed to raise 
one implication upon another in favor of federal power, and to 
make each previous precedent a foundation on which to proceed 
another step in the march towards consoUdation, may soon 
make it mean anything or nothing. The liberties of this country 
can only be preserved by a strict construction of the enumerated 
powers granted by the States to Congress. 

" Before I proceed further in my argument against the con- 
stitutionality of this bill, it will be proper that I should develop 
some of its latent beauties. I desire to delineate a little more 
precisely its character — to present some of its striking features, 
and to show what it is in principle, and what it will j)rove to 
be in practice. 

" There are twenty-six sovereign States in this confederacy, 
united by a federal compact, called the Constitution of the 
United States. Each individual elector in this country sustains 
two distinct characters. He is a citizen of some one of the 
States, and he is also a citizen of the United States. He is 
bound to perform the duties of a good citizen both towards his 
own State and towards the United States. Now, what does 
ihis bill propose ? In the older States of this confederacy, all 



INTERFEKKXCK OF FEDKKAL OFFICKRS IN ELFCTIOXS. 267 

the federal officers which we have in the interior are postmas- 
ters. It is true that at our ports of entry there are custoir- 
house officers, but iu Pennsylvania for example, from tlie 
Schuylkill to the Ohio and to Lake Erie, our people scarcely 
feel their connection with the general government except 
through the medium of the Post-office Department. These 
postmasters are very numerous. They are planted in every 
village and at every cross road. They are agents for dissemi- 
nating information throughout the country. I might probably 
say that in nine instances out of ten the office is scarcely worth 
holding, on account of its pecuniary emoluments. In most 
cases, the postmaster accepts it for the accommodation of his 
neighbors. Now this postmaster is generally a man of property 
and of character, having a deep stake in the community, and 
iu the faithful administration and execution of the laws. Two 
candidates arc presented to the people for office, say that of a 
justice of the peace. If one of these village postmasters should, 
in the exercise of his unquestionable rights as a citizen of Penn 
sylvania, advise his neighbor to vote for one of these candidates, 
and against the other, this bill dooms him to a fine of five hun- 
dred dollars, and to a perpetual disqualification from ever 
holding any office under the government of the United States. 
Ko matter whether the merits which he may have ascribed tc 
one of the candidates be true as holy writ, and the delinquencies 
which he may have charged against the other may be suscepti- 
ble of the clearest proof, this will not arrest the vengeance of 
the bill. lie is doomed to remain mute, although his dearest 
interests may be involved, or incur its penalties. A gag is to 
be put into his mouth, and he is to be punished if he dare' to 
express a preference for one candidate over the other ; and let 
me tell the gentleman, these postmasters hold all sorts of politi- 
cal opinions. In my own State a considerable proportion of 
their numbers are whigs and anti-masons, opposed to the pre- 
sent administration. I might cite other examples to depict the 
enormity of this bill, but I consider i* wholly unnecessary. I 



2G8 LIFE il-ND Sf:RVICES OF JAMES BUCHAIS'AI^-. 

might ascend from the justice of the peace or the constable, 
through all the gradations of elective office, State and Federal, 
to the President of the United States, and show that at each 
ascending grade, the violation of the rights of the citizen be- 
comes more and more outrageous. I might enumerate the 
weighers and the gangers, and the other proscribed classes of 
inferior office-holders, and paint the mad and wanton injustice 
which this bill would inflict upon them. But enough." 

Mr. Buchanan here went on to show that any man who 
would accept office upon such terms, would forfeit all self-respect, 
and become at once a fit tool for corruption and despotism. 
That it would be degrading to American freemen, and a degra- 
dation to which they would not submit. It would also, he said, 
raise troops of informers and eavesdroppers to catch every in- 
cautious word dropped by a postmaster or other official, in order 
to find grounds for his punishment. 

" But," said Mr. Buchanan, " there is another remark which 
I desire to make on this branch of the subject. Whenever you 
attempt to violate the plain letter and spirit of the Constitu- 
tion, a thousand evUs, of which you have never dreamed, pre- 
sent themselves in the perspective. This law can alone be 
executed by the courts of the United States. Where are they 
situated? In tha large States, such as Pennsylvania and Yh- 
ginia, they are held at great distances from each other. A 
postmaster in either of these States, the income of whose office 
does not exceed fifty dollars per annum, may be dragged from 
home, a distance of one hundred and fifty or two hundred 
miles, to stand his trial under this bill, before a federal court. 
The expense would be enormous, whilst he is obliged to appear 
before a tribunal far from the place where his character and 
that of his prosecutor are known and appreciated. Under suet 
circumstances, he would almost be certain to become the victim 
of the common informer, under this most unjust and unconstita- 



rNTERFEKENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICKKS IN ELECTIONS. 2(JT? 

tional law. lie would eitber be couvicted, or compelled to buy 
his peace at almost any price. 

"In conferring the powers enumerated in the Constitution on 
the federal government, the States expressly reserved to 
themselves respectively, or to their people, all the powers not 
delegated by it to the United States, or prohibited by it to the 
States. Now, I would ask the senator from Kentucky when, 
or where, or how has the State of Pennsylvania surrendered to 
Congress the right of depriving any of her citizens who may 
accept office under the general government, of the freedom of 
speech or of the press ? "Where is it declared by the Consti- 
tution, cither in express terms, or from what clause can it be 
fairlv inferred, that Congress may make a forfeiture of the best 
of all political rights, an indispensable condition of oCQce ? 
Each one of the people of Pennsylvania, under her constitution 
and laws, is secured in the inalienable right of speaking his 
thoughts. The State, as well as each individual citizen, has 
the deepest interest in the preservation of this right. I ask the 
gentleman to lay his finger on the clause of the Constitution by 
which it has been surrendered. Where is it declared, or from 
what can it be inferred, that because the States have yielded to 
the federal government their citizens to execute public trusts 
under the general government, that therefore they have yielded 
the rights of those citizens to express their opinions freely con- 
cerning public men and public measures ? The proposition 
appears to me to be full of absurdity. In regard to the qualifi- 
cations of electors, the States have granted no power whatever 
to the United States. This subject they have expressly 
reserved from federal control. The legislatures of the States, 
and they alone, under the Constitution, possess the power of 
prescribing the qualifications of the electors of members of tho 
House of Representatives in Congress. They have reserved the 
same power themselves in regard to voters for the choice of 
electors of President and Vice-president. What then does this 
lill attemot ? To separate two things which reason and the 



270 LIFE AND SERTICES OF JAMES BUCHANAISr. 

Almighty himself have united beyond all power of separation. 
You might as well attempt, by arbitrary laws, to separate 
human life from the power of breathing the vital air, as to 
detach the elective franchise from freedom of thought, of 
speech, and of the press. In this atmosphere alone can it live, 
and move, and have its being. To speak his thoughts is every 
free elector's inalienable right. Freedom of speech and of the 
press are both the sword and the shield of our republican insti- 
tutions. To declare that when the citizens of a State accept, 
office from the general government, they thereby forfeit this 
light to express an opinion in relation to the public concerns of 
cheh' own State and of the nation, is palpable tyranny. In the 
language referred to in the report, ' it puts bridles into their 
mouths and saddles upon their backs,' and degrades them from 
ihe rank of a reasoning animal. The English precedent of the 
senator was wiser, much wiser, in depriving these officers of the 
right of suffrage altogether. It does not attempt to separate, 
by the power of man, two things which Heaven itself has indis- 
solubly united. 

" if, therefore, the Constitution contained no express pro- 
vision whatever, prohibiting Congress from passing any law 
abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, I think I have 
shown conclusively, that the power to pass this bill could not 
be inferred from any of the express grants of power. But the 
Constitution is not silent on the subject. Before its adoption 
by the State, it was dreaded by the jealous patriots of the day, 
that the federal government might usurp the liberties of the 
people by attacking the hberty of speech and of the press. 
'They, therefore, insisted upon the insertion of an express pro- 
vision, as an amendment, which, in all time to come, would pre- 
vent Congress from interfering with these inestimable rights. 
The amendment to which I have often referred, was adopted, 
and these rights were expressly excepted from the powers of 
the federal government ; and yet in the very face of this ex- 
press negative of federal power, we find the senator from Ken- 



INTfiEFEKENCE OF FEDERAX 0FFICEE3 IN ELKCTIOKS. 271 

tucky coming; forward with liis bill, declariuc^ direct war against 
any exercise of the freedom of speeca and of tlie press by those 
citizens of the United States who happen to be oCTicc-nolders 
under the general government But, says the senator from Vir- 
ginia, Congress possess and have exercised the unquestionable 
power of creating offices under the Constitution, and they may, 
therefore, annex to the holding of these offices such a :^ondition 
as that prescribed by the bill, or rather the amendment of the 
senator from Kentucky. Now, sir, what is this but to say that 
Congress may declare that any citizen of Pennsylvania wlio ac- 
cepts a federal office, shall take it upon condition that it shall 
be forfeited the moment he exercises the dearest political right 
guaranteed to him and every other citizen by the Constitution 
of the United States. Can Congress impose any such condition 
upon an office ? If they can, they can repeal the most solemn 
provision of the Constitution, and render it a dead letter in re- 
gard to every person in the employment of the general govern- 
ment. All mankind may then speak and publish what they 
please, except those individuals who have been selected, I hope 
generally, for their integrity and ability, to execute the impor- 
tant public trusts of the country. 

" But I do not mean even to rest the Constitutional question 
here. From the very nature of the Constitution itself, two 
great political parties must ever exist in this country. You 
may call them by what names you will ; their principles must 
ever continue to be the same. The one dreading federal 
power, will ever be friendly to a strict construction of the 
powers delegated to the federal government and to State 
rights. The other, equally dreading federal weakness, will ever 
advocate such a liberal construction of the Constitution as will 
confer upon the general government as much power as possible, 
consistently with a free intepretation of the terms of the in- 
Gtrumeut. The one party is alarmed at tie danger of consoli- 
dation, the other at that of disunion. In the days of the elder 



272 LIFE AND SEEYICES OF JA]VIES BUCHAl^'AN. 

Adams the party friendly to a liberal construction of the 
Constitution got into power. And what did they do ? 
Among other things, in the very face of that clause of the 
Constitution which prohibited Congress from passing any law 
abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, they passed 
the sedition law. What were its provisions ? It punished 
false, scandalous, and malicious libels against the government 
of the United States, either House of Congress or the Presi- 
dent, by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars and imprison- 
ment not exceeding two years. 

" The Constitution had declared that ' Congress shall pass 
no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.' Its 
framers well knew that, under the laws of each of the States 
composing this Union, libels were punishable. They, therefore, 
left the character of all officers created under the Constitution 
and laws of the United States to be protected by the laws of 
the several States They were afraid to give this government 
any authority over libels, lest the colossal power might be 
wielded against the liberty of the press. Con^-ress were, there- 
fore, prohibited from passing any law upon the subject, whether 
good or bad. It was not merely because the law was unjust 
in itself, though it was bad enough, Heaven knows, that the 
indignant republicans of that day rose against it, but it was 
because it violated the Constitution. It expired by its own 
hmitation, in March, 1801, but not until it had utterly prostra- 
ted the pohtical party which gave it bu-th. 

******* 

" The federalists of that day honestly believed that the gov- 
ernment should be strengthened at the centre, and that the 
pulsations of the heart were not powerful enough to extend 
a wholesome circulation to the extremities. They, therefore, 
used every effort to enlarge the powers of the federal gov- 
ernment by construction. This was the touchstone which 
then divided parties, and which will continue to divide them 



INTERFERENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICERS IN ELECTIONS. 273 

until, which God forbid, the government itself shall cease to 

exist. 

******* 

" And yet this bill is supported by my friend from Virginia, 
who, to use his own language, ' has been imbued with the prin- 
ciples of democracy and a regard for State rights from his 
earliest youth.' If such a charge should ever be made against 
him hereafter, his speech and his vote in favor of this bill will 
acquit him before any court in Christendom where the truth 
may be given in evidence. 1 yet trust he may never vote for 
its passage. 

" Every measure of this kind betrays a want of confidence 
in the intelligence and patriotism of the American people. It 
is founded on a distrust of their judgment and integrity. Do 
you suppose that when a man is appointed a collector or a 
postmaster he acquires any more influence over the people than 
he had before ? No, sir ; on the contrary, his influence is 
often diminished instead of being increased. The people of 
this country are abundantly capable of judging whether he is 
most influenced by love of country or love of office. If they 
should determine that his motives are purely mercenary for 
supportmg a political party, this will destroy his influence. If 
he be a noisy, violent, and meddling politician, he will do the 
administration under which he has been appointed much more 
harm than good. Let me assure gentlemen that the people 
are able to take care of themselves. They do not require the 
interposition of Congress to prevent them from being deceived 
and led astray by the influence of office-holders. Whilst this 
is my fixed opinion, I think the number of federal officers ought 
to be strictly limited to the actual necessities of the govern- 
ment. Pursue this course, and my life for it, all the land offi- 
cers, and postmasters, and weighers and gangers which you 
shall spread abroad over the country, can never influence the 
people to betray their own cause. For my own part, I enter- 

12* 



274: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

tain the most perfect confidence in their mteUigence as well as 

integrity. 

******* 

" And here I hope the senator from Kentucky will pardon me 
for suggesting to him an amendment to his bill. He has, I 
think, made one or two mistakes in the classification of liis 
officers, though, in general, it is sufficiently perfect. The 
principle would seem to have been to separate what may be 
called the aristocracy of office-holders from the plebeians. Those 
of the elevated class are still permitted to enjoy the freedom of 
speech and of the press, whilst the hard working operatives 
among them are denied this privilege. The heads of depart- 
ments and bureaus, the officers of the army and navy, the super- 
intendents and officers of our mints, and the district attorneys 
are not affected by the bill. These gentlemen are privileged by 
their elevation. They are too high to be reached by its pro- 
visions. Who, then, ought to care whether weighers and 
gaugers, and village postmasters, and hard-handed draymen, 
and such inferior people, shall be permitted to espress their 
thoughts on public affairs ? I would suggest, however, that the 
collectors of our principal seaports, the marshals of our extensive 
judicial districts, and the postmasters in our principal cities, re- 
ceive compensation sufficient to enable them to figure in ' good 
society.' They ought to rank with the district attorneys, and 
should be elevated from the plebeian to the patrician rank of 
office-holders. They ought to be allowed the freedom of speech 
and of the press. As to the subordmate officers, they are not 
worth the trouble of a thought. 

"To be sure there is one palpaMe absurdity on the face of 
the bill. Its avowed purpose is to prevent office-holders from 
exercising an influence in elections. Why, then, except from its 
operation all those office-holders who from their station in 
society can exercise the most extensive influence, and confine its 
provisions to the humbler, but not less meritorious class, whose 



INTERFERENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICERS IN ELECTIONS. 2iO 

opinions cau have but a limited influence over tlicir fellow men ? 
The District Attorney, for example, is excepted, the very man 
of all otliers who, from his position and talents, has the best op- 
portunity of exerting an extensive influence. Ue may ride over 
his district, 'and make political speeches to secure the election 
of his favorite candidate. He is too high a mark for the gen- 
tleman's bill. Cut if the subordinates of the custom-house, or 
the petty postmaster at the cross-roads, with an income of fifty 
dollars per annum, shall dare even in private conversation, to 
persuade an elector to vote for or against any candidate, he is 
to be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars, and a per))etual 
disability to hold any office under the government. Was tliere 
ever a bill more unequal or more unjust ? 

" Now, sir, I might here with groat propriety, and very much, 
to the relief both of my audience and myself, leave this subject ; 
but there are still some other observations which I conceive it 
to be my duty to add to what I have already said. Most of 
them will be elicited by the very strong remarks of my friend 
from Virginia. For I trust that I may still be permitted to 
call hira by that name. 

" He and I entered the House of Representatives almost 
together, I believe he came into it but two years after myself. 
We soon formed a mutual friendship, which has ever since, I 
may say, on my part, with great sincerity, continued to exist. 
We fought shoulder to shoulder, and his great powers were 
united with my feeble efforts in prostrating the administration 
of the younger Adams. General Jackson came into power, 
and, during the whole period of that administration, he was the 
steady, unwavering supporter of all its leading measures except 
the specie circular and his advocacy of the currency bill ; and, 
on that bill, I stood by him, in opposition to the administration. 
Whilst tliis man of destiuy was in power — this man of the lion 
heart, whose will the whigs declared was law, and v.hose roar- 
ing terrified all the other beasts of the forest, and subdued them 
into silence — where was then the senator from Virginia ? He 



276 IJFE A2!CD SEKVICES OF JAilES BUCUANAN. 

was our chosen champion in the fight. Whilst General Jackson 
was exerting all this tremendous influence, and marshalling all 
his trained bands of office-holders to do his bidding, according 
to the language of the opposition, these denunciations had no 
terrors for the senator from Virginia. Never in my life did I 
perform a duty of friendship with greater ardor than when, on 
one occasion, I came to his rescue from an unjust attack made 
against him by the Whigs, in relation to a part of his conduct 
whilst minister in France. After holding out so long together, 
ought he not at least to have parted from us in peace, and bade 
us a kind adieu ? In abandoning our camp, why did he shoot 
Parthian arrows behind him ? In taking leave of us, I hope 
not forever, is it not too hard for us to hear ourselves denounced 
by the gentleman in the language which he has used ? He is 
amazed and bewildered with the scenes passing before him. 
Whithsr, he asks, will the mad dominion of party carry us ? 
His mhid is filled with despondency as to the fate of his country. 
Shall we emulate the servility of the Senate and people of Rome ? 
You already have your Praetorian bands in this city. I might 
quote from his speech other phrases of a similar character, but 
these are sufficient. I do not believe that any of these expres- 
sions were aimed at me personally, yet they strike me with the 
mass of my political friends, and I feel bound to give them a 
passing notice. ***** 

Not long previous to the time of the delivery of this speech, 
M. de Tocqueville had been in this country, and had published, 
on his return to Europe, a work upon " Democracy in America," 
a curious compound of sagacity and obtuseness of a great mind, 
naturally acute and expansive, but so bound up in the habitudes 
of European ideas, that the simple truths of democracy to him 
were, like the gospel to the Greeks — foolishness. This work of 
his had been frequently cited in the course of debate, and Mr. 
Buchanan had exposed sozo of his errors. In referring to the 
subject, he said • 



rNTERFERENCE OF FEDEKAL OFFICKUS IN ELECTIONS. 277 

" I may truly say, that I have never met any Frenchman or 
Enghshmau who could understand the complicated relations ex- 
isting between our Federal and State governments, in this re- 
spect, De Tocqueville has not succeeded much better than the 
rest. I am disposed to quarrel with him for one thing, and 
that is, that he is opposed to the doctrines of the Virginia and 
Kentucky resolutions. He is one of those old federalists, in 
the true acceptance of that term, who believe that the powers of 
the general government arc not sulTiciently strong to protect it 
from the encroachments of the States. Ilcnce one great object 
of his book is to prove that this government is becoming weaker 
and weaker, whilst that of the States is growing stronger and 
stronger ; and although he does not think the time near, yet 
the final catastrophe must be, that it will be dissolved by its 
own weakness, and the people, at length tired of the perpetual 
struggles of liberty, will finally seek repose in the arms of des- 
potism. This result, in his opinion, is not to be brought about 
by the strength, but by the weakness of the federal govern- 
ment. I might adduce many quotations to this effect from his 
book, but I shall trouble the Senate with but a few. He says, 
in summing up a long chapter on this subject, ' I am strangely 
mistaken if the federal government of the United States bo not 
constantly losing strength, retiring gradually from public affairs, 
and narrowing its circle of action more and more. It is natu- 
rally feeble, but it now abandons even its pretensions to strength. 
On the other hand, I thought I remarked a more lively sense of 
independence, and a more decided attachment to provincial gov- 
ernment, in the States. The Union is to subsist, but to subsist 
as a shadow ; it is to be strong in certain cases, and weak in all 
others ; in time of warfare it is to be able to concentrate all the 
forces of the nation, and all the resources of the country in its 
hands, and in time of peace, its existence is to be scarcely per- 
ceptible, as if. this alternate debility and vigor w^re natural or 
possible.' 

" ' I do not foresee anything for the present which may bo 



278 LIFE AND SERYICES OF JAilES BTTCHAXAN. 

able to clieck tins general impulse of public opiuiou; tlie causes 
in which it oviginated do not cease to operate with the same 
effect. The change will therefore go on, and it may be predic- 
ted that, unless some extraordinary event occurs, the govern- 
ment of the Union will grow weaker and weaker every day.' 

" Again : ' So far is the federal government from acquiring 
strength, and from threatening the sovereignty of the States as 
it grows older, that I maintain it to be growing weaker and 
weaker, and that the sovereignty of the Union alone is in dan- 
ger.' And again : ' It may, however, be foreseen, even now, 
that when the Americans lose their republican institutions, 
they will speedily arrive at a despotic government, without a 
long interval of limited monarchy.' 

" Speaking of the power of the President, he says, ' Hitherto, 
no citizen has shown any disposition to expose his honor or his 
life, in order to become the President of the United States, be- 
cause the power of that office is temporary, limited, and subor- 
dinate. The prize of fortune must be g'reat, to encourage 
adventurers in so desperate a game. No candidate has as yet 
been able to arouse the dangerous enthusiasm or the passionate 
sympathies of the people in his favor, for the very simple reason, 
that when he is at the head of the government he has but little 
power, but little wealth, and but little glory to share amongst 
his friends, and his influence in the State is too small for the 
success or the ruin of a faction to depend upon the elevation of 
an individual to power.' 

" Now, if this greater than ]\Iontesquieu, is to be believed, 
and his authority is to be relied upon by the senator from Vir- 
ginia, whence his teri'or and alarm lest the power of the Presi- 
dent might be strengthened by the influence of the lower class 
of federal office-holders at the elections ? Why should they be 
deprived of the freedom of speech and of the press, upon the 
principle that the power of Mr. Van Buren is dangerous to the 
liberties of his country ? The gentleman's lauded authority is 
entirely against his own position." 



INTERFV^lif:i,-0£ OF FEDERAL OFFICERS IX ELECTIONS. 279 

Mr. Buclianan, liowcvcr, went on to explain that he differed 
4ltogether from M. de TocqueTillc, and ai)i)rcbendcd no such 
weakness as he pointed out ; on the contrary, he beheved the 
executive and federal government would always be strong 
enough to exercise its legitimate powers. It will be seen that 
what De Tocqueville supposed was our weakness, is actually our 
strength. To be " strong in certain cases, and weak in all 
others " was just the idea which the founders of our system of 
government had in view. To be strong in the enforcement of 
all powers delegated to it by the States, but weak in all things 
pertaining to State rights, is just the point and pith of our 
federal Constitution, the bulwark of our Union, and the sup- 
port of all our most cherished institutions ; yet, tlie great Euro- 
pean writer on democracy could not understand such profound 
simplicity 1 

In the course of the same debate, England was again, as it 
is often now, held up as a model fof America. Mr. Buchanan 
did not, however, feel disposed to go to such a source for 
guidance. In reference to some remarks that Mr. Hives of 
Virginia had made, he said : 

" I agree with him, that we are indebted for several of our 
most valuable institutions to our British ancestors. We have 
derived fi*om them the principles of liberty established and con- 
secrated by Magna-Charta, the trial by jury, the petition of 
right, the habeas corpus act, and the revolution of 1G88. And 
yet, notwithstanding all this, I should be very unwilling to 
make the British government a model for our legislation in 
republican America. Look at its effect in practice. Is it a 
government which sheds its benign influence, like the dews of 
hcave'i, npon all its su))jects? Or is it not a government, whore 
the rights of the mauy are sacrificed to promote the interest of 
the few? The landed aristocracy have controlled the election 
of a majority of the members of the House of Commons, and 
they, themselves, compose the House of Lords. The maui 



2S0 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAJ^IES BUCHANAN. 

ccope and principal object of tlieir legislation was to promote 
the great landed interest, that of the large manufacturers, and 
the fund-holders of a national debt, amounting to more than 
seven hundred and fifty miUions sterling. In order to accom- 
plish these purposes, it became necessary to oppress the poor. 
"Where is the country beneath the sun, in which jiauperism pre- 
vails to such a fearful extent ? Is it not known to the whole 
world, that the wages both of agricultural and manufacturing 
labor are reduced to the very lowest point necessary to sustain 
human existence ? Look at Ireland, the fairest land I have 
ever seen. Her laboring population is confined to the potatoe. 
Earely, indeed, do they enjoy either the wheat or the beef which 
tlieir country produces in such plentiful abundance. It is chiefly 
sent abroad for" foreign consumption. 

" The people of England are now struggling to make their 
institutions more free, and, I trust in fiod, they may succeed ; 
yet, their whole system is artificial, and without breaking it 
down altogether, I do not perceive how the condition of the 
mass of the people can be much ameliorated. In the present 
state of the world, no friend of the human race ought, probably, 
to desire its immediate destruction. We ought to regard 
it rather as a beacon to warn us than as a model for our imita- 
tion. We ought never, like England, to raise up by legislation 
any great interests or monopolies, to oppress the people, which 
we cannot put down without crushing the government itself. 
Such is now the condition of that country. I am no admirer 
of the British Constitution, cither in church or state, as it at 
present -exists. I desire not a splendid government for this 
country." 

In concluding his speech, Ih: Buchanan defined his last 
position upon the bill. He said : 

" I will tell the senator from Kentucky how far I am willing 
to proceed with him in punishing public officers. If a post- 



INTEKFKRENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICERS IN ELECTIONS. 281 

master will abuse his franking privilege, as I know to my sor- 
row has beou done iu some instances, by converting it into the 
means of Hooding the surrounding country with base libels in 
the form of electioneering pamphlets and handbills, let such an 
officer be instantly dismissed and punished. If any district- 
attorney should cither favor or oppress debtors to governmeLt,' 
for the purpose of }*romoting the interest of his party, he oug"..it 
to share a similar fate. So, if a collector will grant privilege's 
in the execution of his office to one importer, which he deni»^5 
to another, in order to subserve the views of his party, be 
ought to be dismissed from office, and punished for his offcnco. 
I would not tolerate any such official misconduct. But whilst 
a man faithfidly and hnpartially discharges all the duties of hi» 
office, let him not be punished for expressing his opinion in re- 
gard to the merits or demerits of any candidate. Above all, 
let us not violate the Constitution, in order to punish an 
officer. 

" The senator from Virginia has of late appealed to us 
often to arise above mere party, and to go for our country. 
Such appeals are not calculated to produce any deep impres- 
sion on my mind, because, in supporting my party, I honestly 
believe I am in the best manner promoting the interest of my 
country. I am, but I trust not servilely, a party man. I sup- 
port the present President, not because I think him the wisest 
or best man alive, but because he is the faithful and able repre- 
sentative of my principles. As long as he shall continue to 
maintain these principles, he shall receive my cordial support, 
but not one moment longer. I do not oppose my friends on 
this side of the house because I entertain unkind feelings to- 
wards them personally. On the contrary, I esteem and re- 
spect many of them highly. It is against the political princi- 
ples of which they are the exponents that I make war. 

" I support the President because he is in favor of a strict 
and limited construction of the Constitution, according to the 
true spirit of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions. I firmly 



^1)2 LIFE AXD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

believe tliat if the governmeiit is to remain powerful and per- 
manent, it can only be by never assuming doubtful powers, 
which must necessarily bring it into collision with the States. 
It is not difficult to foresee what would be the termination of 
such a career of usurpation of the rights of the States. 

" I oppose the whig party because, according to their read- 
ing of the Constitution, Congress possess, and they ought to 
exercise, powers which would endanger the rights of the States, 
and the liberties of the people. Such a free construction of 
the Constitution as can derive from the simple power ' to levy 
and collect taxes,' that of creating a national bank, appears to 
me to be fraught with imminent danger to the country. I am 
opposed to the party so liberal in their construction of the Con- 
stitution, as to infer the existence of a power in the federal 
government to create and circulate a paper currency for the 
whole Union, from the clause which merely authorizes Congress 
' to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes.' Such construc- 
tions would establish precedents which might call into existence 
other alien and sedition laws, and it is such a construction 
which has given birth to the bill now before the Senate, deny- 
ing the freedom of speech and of the press to a respectable 
portion of our citizens." 

This speech of Mr. Buchanan effectually settled this federal 
measure, for such it unquestionably was, though advocated by 
one or two who had always hitherto been true to democratic 
ideas. It shows how even the clearest mind may sometimes 
get befogged upon plain democratic doctrines. Thus it has 
ever been. Many noble democratic leaders have had a vivid 
conception of the application of democratic principles to some 
questions, but have failed to see it in regard to others. Our 
own day exhibits some melancholy examples of the truth of this 
statement ; but it is a satisfaction to know, that if a few 
armor-bearers have fainted and fallen by the way, others have 



CLOSE OF THE SESSION. 283 

ar'isci to take their places, and above all, the great earnest 
heart of the democratic masses has remained unperverted and 
true. 

The other speeches made by Mr. Buchanan at this session 
were of far less national importance though embracing a dis- 
cussion of some of oar most important public interests. As 
the foregoing speech, however, was made upon a question that 
involved a radical departure from fundamental law, we have 
Inought it most important of any, for it shows how sternly and 
resolutely he has always maintained democratic principles, and 
how senseless are the accusations of his enemies, that he was 
ever the advocate of those opprobrious doctrines -which have 
made the otherw^ise respectable name of federal, a term of 
odium and reproach. This long and stormy Congress was 
brought to a close on the 4th of March, 1839, and although it 
had not completed the principal measure ^[r. Yan Bureu had 
in view — the independent treasury system, yet it had laid the 
foundation for it, and paved the way for a final divorcement :)f 
bauR and State. 



284 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Twenty-sixth Congress — The Independent Treasury — Mr. Buchanan's great 
Speech — Uis reply to Hon. John Davis. 

The twenty-sixtli Congress, the last under Mr. Van Buren's 
administration, commenced its first session on the 2d of Decem- 
ber, 1839. It was a protracted and important session, and did 
not close its labors until the 18th of July, 1840. Early in 
December, Hon. Silas Wright gave notice of a bill " to more 
effectually secure the public money in the hands of the officers 
and agents of the government," and which is subsantially the 
independent treasury system now in existence. This was a call 
to combat between the forces of the old federal bank system, and 
the advocates of separating the government from all connec- 
tions with such institutions. Silas Wright was the recognized 
leader of the measure of the administration on the floor of the 
Senate. The contest was a most desperate one. It was the 
expiring eifort of a giant monster — the death struggle of the 
alliance between the government and the banks. At this day 
it is perfectly astonishing to read the disasters predicted from 
the passage of this measure, even by men who have great repu- 
tations as shrewd statesmen. The country at the time was, no 
doubt, in a most unfortunate Guancial condition, the effects of 
a period of paper currency expansion never before equalled in 
the history of our country. The measure advocated by the demo- 
cratic party was just the one to prevent the recurrence of such 
a catastrophe ; yet the bill was fought against by its enemies 
with a resistance that can scarcely be imagmed. Even after it 



THE INDEPENDENT TEEASUKT. 285 

had passed, and nothing remahicd but the form of agreeing to 
its title, its opponents pursued the beneOcent act as if it were a 
malignant virus which, after it had entered the public system, 
could produce only disease and death. A member of the House 
froto Pennsylvania proposed to entitle the bill an act " to 
reduce the value of property, the products of the farmer, and 
the wages of labor ; to destroy the indebted portions of the 
community, and to place the treasury of the nation in the hands 
of the President." Mr. Clay declared that " the certain tendency 
of the measure would be to reduce prices ;" and all pictured 
only ruin, devastation and destruction to every business and 
occupation vi society. Undaunted, however, amid the storm 
that surrounded them, that important bill was sustained by the 
democratic members, and finally passed the Senate by a vote 
of 24 to 18, and the House by a majority of 12-4 to 107. The final 
result, however, was not reached until the 30th of June, wiien 
the presidential election of 1840 began to assume the enthusi- 
astic spirit, which finally turned a victory into a rout. 

Mr. Buchanan's great speech upon the Independent Treasmy 
Bill was delivered in reply to Mr. Clay, on the 2 2d of January, 
1840. Like all of his efforts, it was able, dignified, and pro- 
found. It contains, without doubt, the best synopsis of the 
science of political economy, the relation between capital and 
labor, that has ever been presented by any American states- 
man. Most assuredly it has never been surpassed, and wo 
believe not equalled. Mr. Buchanan, at the tune of the delivery 
of this speech, had been familiar with the poUcy of our gov- 
ernment for twenty years ; he had passed through financial 
revulsions before ; he had studied the effect of extravagant 
bank expansions, and could place his finger upon the errors of 
the past, and, like a Rkillful marhier, direct how to avoid the 
shoals and quicksands that ulight lie in the future. What 
makes his views of more importance, is the fact that time has 
proved their accuracy. The speech, however, is so long, and 
goes so much into financial and commercial details that we have 



f>86 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BECIIANAN. 

not tnought it interesting to give it entire, especially as he 
delivered a shorter one immediately after, in reply to the Hon. 
John Davis, of Massachusetts, which contains, in a much more 
condensed form, all the facts and arguments of the lirst one. 
We cannot, however, refrain from giving the following extract 
from the main speech, in which he explains the disastrous 
effects of extravagant bank expansions upon all the multifa- 
rious interests of society. After showing what evils this course 
had produced in England, he said : 

" But why need w^e resort to foreign nations for illustrb-tions 
of the truth of this position, when it has been brought home to 
the actual knowledge of every man within this country ? Have 
we not all learned by bitter experience, that when our periodi- 
cal expansions commence, the price of all proj)erty begins to 
rise ? It goes on increasing with the increasing expansions, 
until the bubble bursts, and then bank accommodations and 
bank issues are contracted, the amount of property is reduced, 
and prices fall to their former level. This is the history of our 
own country, and we all know it. A certain amount cf cur- 
rency is necessary to represent the entire exchangeable pro- 
perty of a country, and if this amount should be greatly 
increased without a corresponding increase in the exchangeable 
productions of the country, the only consequence would be a 
great enhancement in nominal prices. I say nominal, because 
this increased price will not enable the man who receives it to 
purchase more real property, or more of the necessaries and 
luxuries of life than he could have done before. 

"Let me now recur to the proposition with which I com- 
menced ; and I will repeat that I do not pretend to mathematical 
accuracy in the illustration which I shall present. The United 
States carry on a trade with Germany and France, the former 
a hard money country, and the latter approaching it so nearly 
as to have no bank notes in circulation under the denomination 
of five hundred francs, or nearly one hundred dollars. On tlie 



SPEECH ON THE INDEPKXDENT TKEASCKY. 2S7 

contrary, the United States is cmpliatically a paper money 
country, having eight hundred banlis of issue, all of theiu emit- 
ting notes of a denomination as low as five dollars, and most of 
them one, two, and three dollar notes. For every dollar of 
gold and silver iu the vaults of these banks, they issue three, 
four, five, and some of them as high as ten and even fifteen 
dollars of paper. This produces a vast but ever changing 
expansion of the currency, and a consequent increase of the 
jirices of all articles, the value of which is not regulated by the 
foreign demand above the prices of similar articles in Germany 
and France. At particular stages of our expansions, we might, 
with justice, apply the principle which I have stated to our 
trade with these countries, and assert that, from the great 
redundancy of our currency, articles are manufactured in 
France and Germany for half their actual cost iu this country. 
Let me present an example. In Germany, where the currency 
is purely metallic, and the cost of everything is reduced to a 
hard money standard, a piece of broadcloth can be manufac- 
tured for fifty dollars, the manufacture of which in our couutry, 
from the expansion of our paper currency, would cost one hun- 
dred dollars. What is the consequence?. The foreign French 
or German manufacturer imports his cloth into our country, 
and sells it for one hundred dollars. Does not every person 
perceive that the redundancy of our currency is equal to one 
hundred per cent, in favor of the foreign manufacturer ? Ko 
taijill" of protection, unless it amounted to prohibition, could 
counteract this advantage in favor of foreign manufacturers, I 
would to Ueaven that I could arouse the attention of every 
manufacturer in the nation to this important subject. 

" The foreign manufacturer will not receive our bank notes in 
payment, lie will take nothing home except gold and silver, 
or bills of exchange, which are equivalent, lie does not expend 
this money here, where he would be compelled to support his 
family, and to purchase his labor and materials at the same 
rate of prices ^Yhich he receives for his manufactures. On the 



288 LIFE AND SERVICES OP JAMES BUCHANAN. ' 

contrary, he goes home, purchases his habor, his ■wool and all 
other articles which enter into manufacture, at half their cost 
in this country, and again returns to inundate us with foreign 
■woollens, and to ruin our domestic manufactures. I might cite 
many other examples ; but this I trust will be suflBcieut to draw 
public attention to the subject. This depreciation of our cur- 
rency is, therefore, equivalent to a direct protection granted to 
the foreign over the domestic manufacturer. It is impossible 
that our manufacturers should be able to sustain such an 
unequal competition. 

" Sir, I solemnly believe that if we could but reduce this in- 
flated paper bubble to anything like reasonable dimensions. 
New England would become the most prosperous manufacturing 
country that the sun ever shone upon. Why cannot we manu- 
facture goods, and especially cotton goods, ■which will go into 
successful competition with British manufactures in foreign mar- 
kets ? Have we not the necessary capital ? Have we not the 
industry ? Have we not the machinery ?' And, above all, are 
not our skill, energy, and enterprise proverbial throughout the 
world ? Land is also cheaper here than in any other country 
on the face of the earth. We possess every advantage which 
Providence can bestow upon us for the manufacture of cotton ; 
but they are all counteracted by the folly of man. The raw 
material costs us less than it does the English, because this is an 
article the price of which depends upon foreign markets, and is 
not regulated by our own inflated currency. We, therefore, 
save the freight of cotton across the Atlantic, and that of the 
manufactured article on its return here. What is the reason 
that, with all these advantages, and with the prospective duties 
which our laws afford to the domestic manufacturer of cotton, 
we cannot obtain exclusive possession of the home market, and 
successfully contend for the markets of the world ? It is simply 
because we manufacture at the nominal prices of our own inflated 
currency, and are compelled to sell at the real prices of other 
nations. Reduce our nominal to the real standard of prices 



6pi:ech ox tiik ixDi:ri:Nr)i;xT tkkasury. 289 

:.hrougIiOUt the world, and you cover our country with blesshigg 
and benefits. I wish to Heaven 1 could speak in a voice loud 
enough to be heard throughout New England ; because if the 
attention of the manufacturers could ouce be directed to the 
subject, their own intelligeuce and native sagacity would show 
them how injuriously they are affected by our bloated banking 
and credit system, and would enable them to apply the proper 
corrective. 

" We are also charged by the senator from Kentucky with a 
desire to reduce the wages of the poor man's labor. AVe have 
been often termed Agrarians on our side of the house. It is 
something new under the sun to hear the senator and his friends 
attribute to us a desire to elevate the wealthy manufacturer at 
the expense of the laboring man and the mechanic. From my 
soul I respect the laborhig man. Labor is the foundation of the 
wealth of every country ; and the free laborers of tho North 
deserve respect both for their probity and their intelligence. 
Heaven forljid that I should do them wrong ! Of all the countries 
on the earth, we ought to have the most consideration for the 
laboring man. From the very nature of our institutions, the 
wheel of fortune is constantly revolving and producing such mu- 
tations in property, that the wealthy man of to-day may become 
the poor laborer of to-morrow. Truly, wealth often takes to 
Itself wings and flies away. A large fortune rarely lasts beyond 
the third generation, even if it endure so long. "We must all 
know instances of individuals obliged to labor for their daily 
bread whose grandfathers were men of fortune. The regular 
process of society would almost seem to consist of the efforts of 
one class to dissipate the fortunes which they have inherited, 
whilst another class, by their industry and economy, are regu- 
larly rising to wealth. We have all, therefore, a common inte- 
rest, as it is our common duty, to protect the rights of the labor- 
ing man ; and if I believed, for a moment that this bill would 
prove injurious to Wm, it should meet my unqualified opposition. 

" Although the bill will not have as great an influence as I 

13 



200 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BTJCIIANAIS'. 

could desire, yet, as far as it goes, it will benefit the laboring 
man as much, and probably more, than any other class of 
society. What is it be ought most to desire ? Constant em- 
ployment, regular wages, and uniform, reasonable prices for the 
necessaries and comforts of life which he requh-es. Kow, sir, 
what has been his condition under our system of expansions and 
contractions ? He has suffered more by them than any other 
class of society. The rate of his wages is fixed and known ; and 
they are the last to rise with the increasing expansion, and the 
first to fall when the corresponding revulsion occurs. He still 
continues to receive his dollar per day, whilst the price of every 
article which he . consumes is rapidly rising. He is at length 
made to feel that, although he nominally earns as much, or even 
more than he did formerly, yet, from the increased price of all 
the necessaries of life, he cannot support his family. Hence, 
the strikes for higher wages, and the uneasy and excited feel- 
ings which have at different periods existed among the laboring 
classes. But the expansion at length reaches the exploding 
point, and what does the laboring man now suffer ? He is for 
a season thrown out of employment altogether. Our manufac- 
tures are suspended ; our public works are stopped ; our pri- 
vate enterprises are abandoned ; and whilst others are able to 
weather the storm, he can scarcely procure the means of bare 
subsistence. 

" Again, sir, who do you suppose held the greatest part of 
the worthless jiaper of the one hundred and sixty-five broken 
banks to which I have referred ? Certainly it was not the keen 
and wary speculator, who snuffs danger from afar. If yon were 
to make the search, you will find more broken bank notes in the 
cottages of the laboring poor than anywhere else. And these 
miserable shin plasters, where are they ? After the revolution 
of 1837, laborers were glad to obtain employment on any terms ; 
and they often received it upon the exjiress condition that they 
should accept this wortliless trash in payment. Sir, an entire 
Buppression of all bank notes of a lower denomination than th^ 



6PEECU ON THE IXOEPENDENT TREASURY. 291 

value of one week's wages of the laboring man, is absolutely 
necessary for his protection. Be ought always to receive his 
wages in gold and silver. Of all men on the earth, the laborer 
is most interested in having a sound and stable currency. 

" The sound state of the currency will have another most 
happy effect upon the laboring man. He will receive his wages 
in gold and silver ; and this will induce him to lay up, for 
future use, such a portion of them as he can spare, after satisfy- 
ing his immediate wants. This he will not do at present, 
because he knows not whether the trash which he is now com- 
pelled to receive as money, will continue to be of any value a 
week or a mouth hereafter. A knowledge of this fact tends to 
banish economy from his dwelling, and induces him to expend 
all his wages as rapidly as possible, lest they may become 
worthless on his hands. 

" Sir, the laboring classes understand this subject perfectly. 
It is the hard-handed and firm-fisted men of the country on 
whom we must rely in the day of danger, who are the most 
frioudiy to the passage of this bill. It is they who are the most 
ardently in favor of infusing into the currency of the country a 
very large amount of the precious metals." 

No one at this day will pretend to question the accuracy of the 
above remarks. Indeed, they evince a political sagacity, amid 
the delusions of the time on the currency question, so m- 
dustriously maintained by those interested in banks, that does 
infinite credit to the statesmanship of Mr. Buchanan. It is not 
too much to say that this manly and able defence of the rights 
of the laboring classes has saved thousands, yes, hundreds of 
thousands of dollars to the men who earn their living by the 
sweat of their brows. And not these classes alone have been 
benefited, but every business man has reaped innumerable bles- 
sings, in the uniformity and healthful activity which the adop- 
tion of the principles Mr. Buchanan advocated with so much 
earnestness and ability, has secured to every department of in- 



292 LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAIVIES BUCHANAN. 

dustrial, manufacturiug or mercantile pursuits. But how has Mr. 
Buchanan Deen repaid for this defence of the interests of his coun- 
try ? No reasonable man would suspect from the foregoing ex- 
tract we have given from his great speech in answer to Mr. 
Clay, that Mr. Buchanan was not advocating the interests of the 
laboring man. Yet, upon this, Mr. John Davis, of Massachusetts, 
founded a speech of a most unjust and unfair character, charging 
Mr. Buchanan with being in favor of low wages, and from this 
have the many newspaper slanders on this subject originated. It 
is this speech in reply to Mr. Davis which we now give, and a more 
searching and indignant exposition of the meanness of an oppo- 
nent in putting words in the mouth of his adversary, we have 
never encountered : 

" Mr. President : I rise to perform a painful, but imperious 
duty, which I owe to myself. The speech which I lately deliv 
cred in favor of the independent treasury bill, has been made 
the subject of criticism and censure in another part of this capi- 
tol ; under what rule of order, I confess I cannot comprehend. 
In some portions of the country, at public meetings, and in the 
public press, I have been denounced as the enemy of the labor- 
ing man, and have been charged with a desire to reduce iiis 
wages, and depress his condition to that of the degraded serfs 
of the European despotisms. Sentiments have been attributed to 
me, which I never uttered, and which my soul abhors. I repeat 
what I declared in that speech, that if I could believe for a mo- 
ment that the independent treasury bill would prove injurious 
to the laboring man, it would meet my unqualified opposi- 
tion. 

" I had intended to embrace the first opportunity which pre- 
sented of doing myself justice upon this subject. Business called 
me away, and I was absent whilst the senator from Kentucky 
(Mr. Crittenden) addressed the Senate on the resolutions now 
before it. I understood that he had referred to the wages of 
labor, m no offensive terms to me, however, but in such a man- 



HIS llKl'LY TO HON. JOHN DAVIS. 293 

ncr as to have presented the opportunity which I so much de- 
sired. Wlicn the senator from New York (Mr. TaUmadge) 
afterwards alUided to the same subject, the debate had assumed 
a personal character, and I was not the man to interfere 
against him in such a contest. lie had said nothing which 
could e.xcite a di.sposition on ray part to pursue such a course. 

" Had I obtained the floor at any time during the lost week, 
my explanation would have been short and simple. The means, 
and the only means, by which it was alleged that I had sought 
to reduce the wages of labor to the standard of the hard money 
despotisms of Europe, was, by the mtroduction of an exclusive 
metallic currency into this country. Now, to such a radical 
change in our currency, I have forever been opposed. I have 
avowed my opposition repeatedly upon this floor and elsewhere, 
and never more distinctly, than in my late speech in favor of the 
independent treasury bill. My motto has always been to reform, 
not to destroy the banks ; and I have endeavored to prove — 
with what success I must leave the jjublic to judge — that such 
a radical reform in these institutions as would prevent violent 
expansions and contractions of the currency, and thus enable 
them always to redeem their notes in specie, would prove emi- 
nently beneficial to all classes of society, but more especially to 
the laboring man. 

"On Saturday evening last, a message was sent me by a 
friend, requesting me to examine the published speech of the 
senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Davis) and suggesting that it 
contained an erroneous statement of the arguments which I had 
used in favor of the independent treasury bill. I examined his 
speech in the ' National Intelligencer,' having never read it be- 
fore, and I confess it struck me with the utmost astonishment. 
I found that, throughout, he had attributed to me arguments 
in favor of the bill which I never used — nay, more, that the ob- 
jections of the bill, which I had endeavored to combat, had been 
imputed to me as the very arguments which I urged in its 
favor. 



294: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES EUCHANAN. 

" I shall proceed to make some remarks upon his speech. In 
performing this duty, it is my sole purpose to justify myself, 
without feeling the slightest disposition to do him injury. 

" In my remarks, I urged the passage of the independent 
treasury bill, because it would separate the banks from the 
government, and would render the money of the people always 
secure, and always ready to promote their prosperity in peace, 
and to defend them in war. Great as are the advantages, 
direct and indirect, which the country will derive from the pas- 
sage of this bill, I knew that it could accomplish little or noth- 
ing towards reforming our paper currency, or retaining the 
banks within safe limits. This opinion I have declared upon 
all occasions, and never more emphatically than in my late 
speech. I stated that the additional demand for gold and sil- 
ver which it might create, would not exceed five millions of 
dollars per annum, according to the President's estimate, and 
that although this might compel the banks to keep more spe- 
cie in their vaults in proportion to their circulation and depo- 
sits, yet that it would prove but a very inadequate restraint 
upon excessive banking. Nay, more ; I plumed myself upon 
the fact that I had been the first to suggest the amendment 
requiring the holders of treasury drafts to present them for pay- 
ment to the depositors, with as Uttle delay as possible, for the 
express purpose of saving the banks from the injury which might 
be inflicted upon them by locking up a large surplus of revenue 
m gold and silver, in the vaults of the depositories, and I en- 
deavored to prove, not only by my own argument, but by the 
authority of one of the most distinguished financiers that his- 
tory has ever produced, that the bank never could be injured 
by the adoption of the independent treasury bill, unless in the 
event of a large surplus revenue, which would not probably 
soon occur. I also stated that it would thus become their inter- 
est, as it already was that of the rest of the community, to pre- 
vent the accumulation of such a surplus. In referring to the 
blessings which would flow to the laboring man from the exist- 



ni3 KEPLY TO HON. JOHX DAVIS. 295 

ence of ». sound mixed currency, whose busis sliould be gold aud 
Bilver, I expressly declared that the bill would exerviise i.o great 
influence in producing this desiral)le result. 

'SWjaiu, in speaking of the effect which this measure would 
produce in reducing the amount of our imports — a consumma- 
tion devoutly desired by all — what was my argument ? That 
the bill would, in some degree, especially after June, 18-42, 
diminish our imports ; because wc should then have a system 
of cash duties, which would operate as an encouragement to 
car domestic manufactures. 

" One of the great objects of my speech was to answer the 
objections which had been urged against the independent 
treasury bill, by proving that it would not injuriously influence 
the business of the country in the manner which had been 
predicted by its enemies, and especially that it would produce 
little or no effect upon the sound and solvent banks of the 
country. I thought I had succeeded. It certainly never en- 
tered into my conception that any person on the face of the 
earth could so far have mistaken my meaning as to attri- 
bute to me arguments in favor of the bill, as directly oppo- 
site to those which I urged as darkness is to light. 

" You may judge, then, Mr. President, of my astonishment, 
when, in the very second paragraph of the speech of the 
senator from Massachusetts, I read the following sentence : 

" ' The senator from Mississippi (Mr, Walker) with his 
usual acknowledged ability, and the distinguished senator fi'ora 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Buchanan) following in his track, have ad- 
vanced the propositions that the embarrassments and distress 
with wliich the country has been grievously afflicted for several 
years past, and which now paralyze all its energies, are im- 
putaljjc to the pernicious influence of bank paper, that this 
bill (the Independent Treasury bill) contains the neccessary 
corrective, as it will check importations of foreign goods, sup- 
press what they call the credit system, and by restoring a 
specie currency, reduce the wages of labor aud the value of 



296 LIFE AND SEEYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

property. This is the character given to the measure by ita 
friends ; and alarming as the doctrines are, I am gratified 
that they are franlvly avowed.' 

"Now, sir, I openly declare in the face of the Senate and 
the world, not only that no such doctrines were ever avowed by 
me, but that these remarks of the senator are palpable, 1 will 
not say intentional, misrepresentations both of the letter and 
spirit of my speech. 

" What, sir ! to attribute to me the remark, that this bill, 
by applying the necessary corrective to the pernicious influence 
of bank paper, ' and by thus restoring a specie currency ' will 
produce the disastrous consequences which he has enumerated, 
when a considerable portion of my argument was devoted to 
prove that the bill would produce no injurious effect whatever 
upon the sound and solvent banks of the country 1 Nay, mere, 
that it would exert but a very trifling influence, indeed, if any, 
even in restraining within safe limits their loans and issues. 
Now, sir, it may be very ingenious, but it is certainly not very 
fair, to put into the mouth of a friend of the bill, as arguments 
in its favor, the strongest objections which have been urged 
against it by its enemies. These would be so many admissions 
of its fatal consequences, and they would be the stronger whf^n 
converted into arguments in its favor by one of its friends- 
Against the whole interest of my remarks — against my express 
and reiterated declarations, both upon this and former occasions, 
that I was no friend to an exclusive hard money currency, but 
was in favor of well regulated State banks, how could the sena 
tor be so far mistaken as to sit down and deliberately write that 
I had urged in favor of this bill, that it would restore a specie 
currency, and thereby reduce the wages of labor and the value 
of property ? I leave it for him to answer the question accord- 
ing to his own sense of justice towards a brother senator who 
had never done him harm. 

" ]?ut the senator does not stop here. Throughout his whole 
speech he imputes to me the use of such arguments in favor of 



niS KEPLY TO UON^. JOIJN DAVIS. 297 

the bill as I have stated, and dwells upon them at lengtli — 
arguments which if I had ever used, would prove conclusively 
that I was an enemy of the bill which I professed to advocate, 
and that scarcely even in disguise. This is the light in which he 
presents me before the world. Towards the conclusion of his 
speech, he caps the climax. lie says : 

" ' To follow out the case, I have supposed : The income of 
every man except the exporter, is to be reduced one half in the 
value of wages and property, while all foreign merchandise will 
cost the same, which will obviously, in effect, double the price, 
as it will take twice the amount of lal)or, or twice the amount 
of the products of labor, to purchase it.' 

" I do not ascribe this power to the bill, but it is enough for 
me that its friends do. What response will the farmers, me- 
chanics, manufacturers, and laborers make to such a flagitious 
proposition ? 

" And all this, the senator says in a professed reply to me. 
ITe thus charges me with having ascribed to the Independent 
Treasury bill the power of reducing the income of every man 
in the country, ' one half in the value of wages and property.' 
Had I contended in favor of any such power, well might the 
senator have said, it was ' a flagitious proposition.' He would 
ahnost have been justified m the use of a term so harsh and 
unparliamentary. 

" Self-respect, as well as the respect which I owe to the 
Senate, restrains me from giving such a contradiction to this 
allegation as it deserves. It would surely not be deemed im- 
proper, however, in me, if I were to turn to the senator, and 
apply the epithet which he himself has applied to the proposi- 
tion he imputes to me, and were to declare that such an impu- 
tation was a ' flagitious' misrepresentation of my remarks. 

" So far from imagining that the Independent Treasury bill 
would restore to the country a metallic currency, I believed 
that it would exercise but a slight influence in restraining the 
excesses of the bankmg system. Other and much more efficient 

11* 



298 LITE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

remedies must be adopted by the several States to restrain the 
excesses, aud thus to prevent future suspensions. In my 
remarks, I stated distinctly what legislation would, I thought, 
be required to accomphsh this purpose. In the first place I 
observed that the banks ought to be compelled to keep in then- 
vaults a certain fair proportion of specie compared with their 
circulation and deposits, or in other words, a certain proportion 
of immediate specie means, to meet their immediate responsi- 
bilities. 2d. That the* foundation of a specie basis for our 
paper currency should be laid, by prohibiting the cu'culation of 
bank-notes, at the first, under the denomination of ten, aud 
afterwards, under that of twenty dollars. 3d. That the amount 
of bank dividends should be limited. 4th. Aud above all, that 
apon the occurrence of another suspension, the doors of the 
bank should be closed at once, aud their affairs placed in the 
hands of commissioners, A certainty that such must be the 
inevitable effect of another suspension, would do more to pre- 
vent it than any other cause. To reform, and not to destroy, 
was my avowed motto. I know that the existence of banks, 
and the circulation of bank-paper, are so identified with the 
!:iabit3 of our people, that they cannot be abolished, even if 
this were desirable. 

" Such a reform in the banking system, as I have indicated, 
would benefit every class of society, but above all others, the 
man who makes his living by the sweat of his brow. The 
object at which I aimed by these reforms was not a pure 
metallic currency, but a currency of a mixed character ; the 
paper portion of it always convertible into gold and silver, and 
subject to as Uttle fluctuation in amount as the regular business 
of the country would admit. Of all reforms, this is what the 
mechauic aud the laboring man ought most to desire. It 
would produce steady prices and steady employment, and, 
under its influence the country would march steadily on in its 
career of prosperity, without suffering from the ruinous expan- 
sions, and contractions, and explosions which we have eu- 



UlS KEriA" TO UOS. JOHN DAVIS. 209 

durcd during the last twenty years. What is most essential to 
the prosperity of the mechanic and laboring man ? Constant 
employment, steady and fair wages, with uniform prices for the 
necessaries and comforts of life which he must purchase, and 
payment for his labor in a sound currency. 

•' Let us, in these particulars, compare the present condition 
of tlie laboring man under the banking system which now 
exists, with what it would be under such reforms as I have 
indicated. And first, in regard to constant employment. 
What is the effect of the present system of bank expansions, 
and contractions, and revulsions, in this particular ? Is it not 
absolutely certain, has not experience demonstrated, that under 
such a system, constant employment is rendered impossible ? 
It id true, that during the short period whilst the bubble is 
expanding, and the banks are increasing their loans and their 
issues, labor of every kind finds employment. Then buildings of 
all sorts are erected, manufactures are established, and the 
mason, and other mechanics are in demand. Public works are 
prosecuted, and afford employment to an immense number of 
laborers. The tradesman of every description then finds cus- 
tomers, because the amount of paper in circulation produces a 
delusive appearance of prosperity, and promotes a spirit of 
extravagance. But, sir, under this system the storm is sure to 
succeed the sunshine, the explosion is certain to follow the 
expansion — and when it comes, and we are now suffering under 
it — what is then the condition of the mechanic and the labor, 
ing man ? Buildings of every kind cease, manufactories are 
closed, public works are suspended, and the laboring classes 
are thrown out of employment altog'^ther. It is enough to 
make one's heart bleed to reflect upon their sufferings, particu- 
larly in our large cities, during the past winter. In many in- 
stances the question with them has not been what amount of 
wages they could earn, but whether they could procure any 
employment which would save them and their families from 
starvation. If om* State legislatures, which alone possess the 



300 LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAMES EUCHANAN. 

power, would but regulate our bloated credit system wisely, by 
restraiuing the banks within safe limits, our country would then 
be permitted to proceed with regular strides, and the laboring 
men would suffer none of these evils because he would j-eccive 
constant employment. 

" In the second place, what is the cfiFect of the present sys- 
tem upon the wages of labor, and upon the price of the neces- 
saries and comforts of life ? It cannot be denied that that 
country is the most prosperous where labor commands the 
greatest reward ; but this not for one year merely, not for that 
short period of time when our bloated credit system is most 
expanded, but for a succession of years, for all time. Perma- 
nence in the rate of wages is indispensable to the prosperity of 
the laboring man. He ought to be able to look forward with 
confidence to the future, to calculate upon being able to rear 
and educate his family by the sweat of his brow, and to make 
them respectable and useful citizens. In this respect, what is 
the condition of the laboring man under our present system ? 
AVhilst he suffers more under it than any other member of 
society, he derives from it the fewest advantages. It is a prin- 
ciple of political economy confirmed by experience, that whilst 
the paper currency is expanding, the price of everything else 
increases more rapidly than the wages of labor. They are the 
last to rise with the expansion, and the first to fall with the 
contraction of the currency. The price of a day's or of a 
month's labor of any kind, the price of a hat, of a pair of 
boots, of a pound of leather, of all articles of furniture ; in 
short, of manual and mechanical labor generally, is fixed and 
known to the whole community. The purchaser complains 
when these fixed prices are enhanced, and the mechanic or 
laborer, in order to retain his customers, cannot and does not 
raise his price until he is compelled to do so by absolute neces- 
sity. His meat, his flour, his potatoes, clothing for himself and 
family, mount up to an extravagant price long before hij com- 
pensation is increased. It was formerly supposed that the pro- 



UIS KI':]'LY TO IJO:^. .TolIN 1)AVI3. 30"1 " 

ductious of meat aud flour were bo vast ia our extended and 
highly favored laud, that a monopoly of them would be impos- 
sible. The ex})erience of the last two or three years has 
proved the contrary. The bauks, instead of giving credit in 
small sums to honest men, who would have used the money 
wisely in promoting their own welfare, and as a necessary con- 
soquence, that cf the community, have loaned it to monopolists, 
to enable them lo raise the price of the necessaries of life to 
the consumer. Have we not all learned that a million of dol- 
lars have been advanced by them to an individual for the pur- 
pose of enabling him to monopolize the sale of all the beef 
consumed in our eastern cities ? Do we not all know that this 
effort proved successful during the last year in raising the price 
of this necessary of life to twelve and sixteen cents, and even 
higher, per pound. Now, sir, although the wages of the labor- 
ing ;uan were then nominally high, what was his condition ? 
He could not afford to go into the market and purchase beef 
for his family. If his wages increased with the increasing ex- 
pansion of our credit system, aggravated in its effects by the 
immense sales of State bonds of Europe, still the prices of all 
the necessaries of life rose in a greater proportion, and he was 
not benefited. I might mention also, the vast monopoly of 
pork, produced by a combination of individuals, extending from 
Boston to Cincinnati, which, by means of bank facilities, suc- 
ceeded in raising the price of that necessary of life to an 
enormous pitch. What then did the laborer gain, even at tha 
time of the greatest expansion? Nothing — literally nothing. 
The laI)orers were a suffering class even in the midst of all this 
delusive prosperity. Instead of being able to lay by anything 
for the present day of adversity, which was a necessary conse- 
quence of the system, the laborer was even then scarcely able 
to maintain himself and his family. His condition has beet 
terrible during the past winter. In view of these facts, I said— 

* ' All other circumstances being equal, I agree with the sena 



^02 LIFE AXD SEETICES OF JAAiES BUCHANAN". 

tor from Kentucky that that country is most prosperous when 
labor commands the highest wages. I do not, however, mean 
by the terms " highest wages " the greatest nominal amount 
During the revolutionary war, one day's work commanded a 
hundred dollars of continental paper ; but this would scarcely 
have purchased a breakfast. The more proper expression 
would be to say, that that country is most prosperous where 
labor commands the greatest reward— where one day's labor 
will procure, not the greatest nominal amount of a depreciated 
currency, but most of the necessaries and comforts of hfe. If, 
therefore, you should, in some degree, reduce the nominal price 
paid for labor, by reducing the amount of your bank issues 
within reasonable and safe limits, and establishing a metallic 
basis for your paper circulation, would this injure the laborer ? 
Certainly not ; because the price of all .the necessaries and 
comforts of life are reduced in the same proportioji, and he will 
be able to purchase more of them for one dollar in a. sound 
state of the currency, than he could have done in the days of 
extravagant expansion for a dollar and a quarter. So far from 
injuring, it will greatly benefit the laboring man. It will insure 
to him constant employment, and regular prices, paid in a 
Bound currency, which of all things he ought most to desire ; 
and it will save him from being involved in ruiu by a recur- 
rence of those periodical expansions and contractions of the 
currency, which have hitherto convulsed the country.' 

" Now, sir, is not my meaning clearly expressed in this para- 
graph ? I contended that it would not injure but greatly bene 
fit the laboring man, to prevent the violent and ruinous expan- 
sions and contractions to which our currency was incident, and 
by judicious bank reform, to place it on a settled basis. If 
this were done, what would be the consequence ? That, if the 
laboring man could not receive as great a nominal amount for 
his labor as he did ' in the days of extravagant expansion,' 
which must always, under our present system, be of short dura- 



HIS KEPLT TO HON. JOUX DAVIS. 303 

tion, lie v."ould be iadcmuified, and far more thau iudcmniGcd, 
by the constant employment, the regular wages, and the iiiii- 
form and more moderate prices of the necessaries and conifoi'ts 
of life, which a more stable currency would produce. Can this 
proposition be controverted ? I think not ; it is too plain for 
argument. Mark, me, sir ; I desire to produce this happy 
result not by establishiug a pure metallic currency, but by 
reducing the amount of your bank issues within reasonable and 
safe limits and establishiug a metallic basis for your paper cir- 
culation. The idea plainly expressed is, that it is better, much 
better, for the laboring man, as well. as for every other class of 
society, except the speculator, that the business of the country 
should be placed upon that fixed and permanent foundation 
which would be laid by establishing such a bank reform as 
would render it certain that bank notes should be always con- 
vertible into gold and silver. 

" And yet this plain aud simple exposition of my views has 
been seized upon by those who desired to make political capi- 
tal out of their perversion ; and it has been represented far 
and wide, that it was my desire to reduce wages down to the 
prices received by the miserable serfs and lal)orers of European 
despotisms. I shall most cheerfully leave the public to decide 
between me aud my traducers. The senator from ^Massachu- 
setts, after having attributed to me the intention of reducing 
the wages of labor to the hard money standard, througli the 
agency of the Independent Treasury Bill, has added, as au 
appendix to his speech, a statement made by the senator 
from Maryland (Mr. Merrick), of the prices of labor in these 
hard money despotisms ; and it is thus left to be inferred that 
I am in favor of reducing the honest and independent laborer 
of this glorious and free country to the same degraded condi- 
tion. The senator ought to know that there is too much intel- 
ligence among the laboring classes in this highly favored land, 
t3 be led astray by such representations. 

Payment of wages in a sound currency. Under the prcs- 



304 LIFE AIM^ SERVICES OF JAIIES BUCHANAN. 

ent unrestricted banking system this is entirely out of the 
question. Nothing can ever produce this effect, except the 
absolute prohibition of the issue and cu'culation of small notes 
As long as bank notes exist of denominations so low as to ren- 
der it possible to make them the medium of payment for a day's 
or a week's labor, so long will the laboring man be compelled 
to accept the very worst of these notes for his wages. Unless 
it may be at periods of the highest expansion, when labor is 
in the very greatest demand, notes of doubtful credit will 
always be forced upon him. This was emphatically the case 
after the explosion of the banks in 1837. He could then procure 
nothing for his work, but the miserable shinplaster-currency with 
which the country was inundated. This he would not lay by for 
a rainy day, because he did not know at what moment it might 
become altogether worthless on his hands. The effect of it was 
to destroy all habits of economy. Besides, as a class, laborers 
suffer more from counterfeit and broken bank-notes than any 
other class of society. In order to afford the laborer the neces- 
sary protection against these evils,' he ought always to be paid, 
and would from necessity always be paid, in gold and silver, if 
the issue and circulation of small notes were entirely prohibited. 
" Thus, it will be perceived, that without the imposition of 
wholesome restrictions upon the banks, the laboring man can 
never expect to receive either constant employment or steady 
and fair wages, paid in a sound currency ; or to pay uniform 
prices for the necessaries and comforts of life, "vhich he is 
obliged to purchase. Under our present system everything is 
in a state of constant fluctuation and change. Prices are high 
to-day, low to-morrow. Labor is in demand to-day, there is 
no employment to-morrow. There is no stability, no unifor- 
mity under our present system. Of all men, laborers are the 
most interested in such a wise regulation of the banking system 
by the States, as would prevent the violent expansions and 
contractions in the currency, and the consequent suspensions of 
specie payments under which we have been suffering. 



TUE LOAV WAGES SLANDER. 



305 



" Why, sir, under our present system, we endure the evils 
both of an exchisive hard money currency and a bloated paper 
system, without experiencing the benefits of cither. The one 
is the inevitable consequence of the other. At the present 
moment, we have reached a point of depression in the currency 
wliich the senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun), con- 
siders as low, or lower, than the hard money standard. Ilere 
we are without credit, because no man for the prosecution of 
his necessary business, can procure a loan from the banks. 
They are now in that state of exhaustion which is the inevita- 
ble consequence of their former highly excited action. The 
case which senators supposed might exist should we suddenly 
adopt a hard money currency, exists already. It is now fact, 
and not fancy. The man who purchased a property but one 
year ago, in the days of the highest expansion, for two thou- 
sand dollars, and paid half the purchase-money upon it, could 
at this moment of depression, scarcely sell it for the remaining 
one thousand dollars. This is one of the greatest evils of our 
present ever-changing system ; but, such things must recur 
and recur again for ever, unless some efficient remedy shall be 
applied." 

This triumphant reply to the special pleading and sophistry 
of Mr. Davis, was not the last compliment Mr. Buchanan paid 
that individual for his attack upon him. The matter would 
not have been of so much consequence, had it not been that it 
was just previous to a presidential election, and the charge of 
the administration being in favor of "low wages," was likely to 
be u?cd with some advantage as an electioneering cry in the 
contest. Mr. Davis, in his reply to Mr. Buchanan, insisted 
upon the most unreasonable and outrageous interpretation to 
las remarks. The enemies to the Independent Treasury had 
used as their principal argument against it, " that it would 
reduce the wages of labor." The answer to this was, " no, it 
will not have such an effect. It will give labor a much better 



306 LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN, 

reward than formerly, but should, perchance, the nominal stand- 
ard of wages be reduced below wliat it is when everything, as 
during a bank expansion, is at speculative prices, still the real 
reward of Uibor will not be reduced. This is the argument on 
both sides in a nutshell, and yet because the friends of the 
administration allowed that prices of all things would be less 
when there were no bank-expansions than when there were, 
they were charged with being in I'avor of " low wages." 

Mr. Buchanan showed that the laboring man was never 
benefited by extravagant speculation. Said Mr. B., " It brings 
to him nothing but unmitigated evil, because the increased 
prices which he is compelled to pay for the necessaries and 
comforts of life, counterbalance, and more than couuterbal- 
unce, this advantage. What he desires is regularity and sta- 
bility in the business of the country." But what made the 
offence of Mr. Davis more palpable and condemnatory, was the 
fact, that after Mr. Buchanan had replied and disavowed any 
such sentiments as had been attributed to him, he refused to 
make the amende honorable, and still continued his pettifogging 
play upon words. Referring to this, in his last reply to Mr. 
Davis, Mr. Buchanan, who rarely becomes excited, and must 
be very grossly wronged before he would speak in terms of 
denunciation of any one, said : " But when the senator thought 
proper to treat my complaints with scorn and contempt, which 
he said they desei'ved, I beUeved it to be a duty which I owed 
to myself to hurl back his defiance, and he may make the most 
of it." 

The good use to which it was supposed this wholesale fabri- 
cation could be put in the coming presidential election was 
doubtless the reason which induced the opponents of the ad- 
ministration to adhere to it so tenaciously. The cry doubtless 
did have some effect, and it is a lamentable evidence of the 
malevolence of party spirit that although the independent 
treasury upon which Mr. Buchanan's arguments were founded 
has been ten years in operation, and every one of his positions 



ELECTION OF GEN. HARRISON. 307 

have been ratified by time aad experience, yet there are now 
found, unfortunately for the credit of human nature, persons 
who give this slander either a direct or partial endorsement. 

And here it is but proper to refer to Mr. Buchanan's conduct 
while smarting under the gross wrong which had been done 
liim by Mr. Davis. While most men would have denounced Mr. 
Davis in language such as his conduct really deserved. Mr. 
Buchanan remembering his place and position, and that the 
Senate was not the arena for personalities, avoided all severe 
denunciations. The strongest remark of a personal character 
which he indulged in was to say " that Mr. Davis was unworthy 
of the courtesy which one gentleman owes to another," and con- 
tinued Mr. Buchanan, " I ask the pardon of every other mem- 
ber of the Senate for using such an expression." Considering 
the character of the assault upon him, this language may be 
considered unusually mild. Mr. Buchanan was always a reso- 
lute opponent of every thing like personality in the Senate, 
considering and justly, too, that individuals who are privileged 
by law, and have only their honor to restrain them in their lan- 
guage, should be the last to abuse that freedom of speech 
granted to them for the good of their country and the safety 
of its institutions. 

We have now given an account of the principal debate of 
this session, but it comprises only a small portion of the actual 
discussion which occurred. Besides the speeches which Mr. 
•Buchanan delivered on the Independent Treasury bill, he took 
part in an animated debate upon the circulation of small notes, the 
expenditures of the government, etc. The stormy session, how- 
ever, came to a close upon the 30th of June in the midst of 
Aie most remarkable presidential contest that our country has 
ever experienced. When the next session of this Congress 
assembled on the 7th of December, 1840, the whirlwind had 
spent its force ; the misrepresentations and abuse of the democracy 
which had been accumulating for years, had effected their pur- 



308 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCnANAN. 

pose. General Harrison had been elected and the democratic 
party was temporarily prostrated, not by the strength of its 
foes, but paradoxical as it may seem, by the very weakness of its 
enemies. 

The second session of the twenty-sixth Congress was not an. 
important one. The democracy were confounded but not dis- 
mayed ; astonished but not overcome, confident that it was 
but a freak of the popular will which " the sober second 
thought," as Mr. Buchanan announced in the early part of the 
session, would soon set right. The most important bill brouglit 
up at this session was the proscription desu'ed to be applied 
to foreigners in regard to the pre-emption right to pubUc lands. 
Mr. Buchanan was again compelled to come to the rescue. He 
said, " he could not understand the opposition which had been 
manifested in certain quarters to foreigners, who sought a 
refuge and a home in our country. Had they not materially 
assisted in achieving our independence ? In the days of the 
revolution no such jealousy was felt towards the brave Irisli- 
men, Frenchmen, and Germans, who side by side with our na- 
tural citizens had fought the battles of liberty. On the contrary 
he had no doubt, it was from a grateful sense of their services, 
that it had ever been the settled pohcy of our government to 
allow them to purchase our vacant lands upon the same terms 
with American citizens." 

The well known fact, however, that the next Congress was 
whig, prevented any important legislation by the party now in 
power. The democrats were more anxious to see the inaugura- 
tion of the measures of the new administration than to present 
any of their own. Hence the debates usually run either into 
a review of the past or speculations in regard to the future. 
There was a man whom Mr. Buchanan never would hear aspersed 
without coming to his rescue. The day had no» then passed 
when men hoped to make something by attacking Gen. Jack- 
son. In reply to some remarks by a distinguished senator, Mr. 
Buchanan said : " Gen. Jackson has now retired to the hermi- 



SECOND SESSION OF TWENTT-SIXTn CONGKESS 309 

tage, and may perhaps live to have the judgment of posterity 
as it were passed upon hira. He was an able, sagacious and 
truly patriotic man ; and I now say that those of us, if there 
be any such, who shall survive during a quarter of a century 
longer, will live to see the day when Jackson's name and fame 
shall be cherished alike by persons of all political parties." 
!Mr. Buchanan was only mistaken in one thing, his prediction 
has become true much sooner than he anticipated. 

This Congress was brought to a close with 4th of Afarch, 
1841, when Gen. Harrison was duly inaugurated President of 
the United States. 



310 LIFE AJS^D SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER XYTI 

An Extra Session of Congress called— Death of Gen. Harrison— Accession of Jolin 
Tyler — The Eiscal Bank — The Fiscal Corporation — Mr. Buchanau'a Speeches en these 
Measures — Mr. Clay's Reply — Mr. Buchanan's Rejoinder. 

Almost immediately after the accession of Gen. Harrison to 
the Presidential chair, he issued a proclamation convoking Con- 
gres, to meet in the extra session on the 31st day of May ensu- 
ing. Before, however, that period arrived, death had removed 
him from the scene of his duties, and for the first time in our 
history a President had deceased during the term of his office. 
Mr. John Tyler, who had been elected Vice President, accord- 
ing to the Constitution, now became acting Chief Magistrate. 
The decree which had already gone forth for an extra session 
was not annulled by Gen. Harrison's successor, and accordingly 
Congress convened on the day designated. Among the names 
on the roll of the Senate at this session, were those of Franklin 
Pierce, Rufus Choate, Silas Wright, W. C. Ptives, John C. Cal- 
houn, Henry Clay, and Thomas H. Benton. In the House were 
Robert C. Winthrop, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, 
Henry A. Wise, Fernando Wood, Aaron Ward, Linn Boyd, and 
Wm, 0. Butler. 

The very first measure the new party introduced was a bill 
for the repeal of the Independent Treasury. This was the 
special object of hatred, as it stood in the way of the establish- 
ment of a national bank, a brilliant scheme for which Mr. Clay 
already had in preparation. Nothing could resist the proposed 
repeal, for a triumphant majority in both houses of Congress 



Tick fiscal bank. 811 

dcinaiidcd it. The democracy resisted it with all their might, 
but the elfort was as useless as their exertions to re-elect Mr. 
Van BureD had been powerless. It was, indeed, a dark day. 
Were all the beneficent reforms which Gen. Jackson had 
labored so long to accomplish to be swept away in a moment ? 
Were the banks and the government which had been Uiiited by 
Hamilton, and divorced by Jackson and Van Buren to be 
reunited, and *a new national bank be formed even before the 
injurious effects of the old one h .d passed away ? It rlid seem, 
indeed, that the severe labors of twelve long years were thus to 
be rendered nseless in one short session. But such was noc the 
fact. What has been called the treachery of John Tyler by 
some, and his patriotism by others, prevented these disastrous 
results. 

Mr. Clay, in the early part of the session, presented his plan 
of a " Fiscal Bank." In detail it v.-as somewhat different from 
former national banks, though in principle no wise disshnilar. 
As Mr. Silas Wright had been the chosen champion of the de- 
mocracy in presenting and carrying through the Independent 
Treasury bill, so was Mr. Buchanan honored with a like position 
in combating upon the floor of the Senate the great measure 
upon which Mr. Clay had staked we may almost say the 
existence of his party and his reputation as a statesman. No 
one will deny that Mr. Buchanan did not have a bold, a skillful 
and powerful antagonist. But he was as honorable, as bold, 
and as chivalric in victory as resigned in defeat. Whatever 
may be said of the old whig party, it had noble and honorable 
leaders, who despised personalities, and who, if fall they must, 
would do so on the field of manly warfare. The names of Clay 
and Webster will ever be the synonyms of all that was digni- 
fied in debate, noble in spirit or generous in personal conduct. 
To the democracy they were " foemen worthy of their steel." 
The whole range of parliamentary debates scarcely furnishes a 
parallel to the conduct of Mr. Clay in this, in more than one re- 
spect, extraordinary session. For years he had been contend- 



S12 LIFE AND SEEYICES OF JAMES BUCnANAN. 

ing for the establishment of a. national bank, and no one will 
dare to ascribe to him any improper motives as an excuse for 
his conduct. He undoubtedly sincerely believed that such an 
institution would be an important and valuable agent in the 
financial transactions of the government. He looked to the 
success of Gen. Harrison as the realization of his hopes. His 
brilliant imagination had pictured to itself his dream as already 
accomplished, and when his favorite measure had been sanc- 
tioned by Congress, lo 1 it was arrested by the power of one 
man, and that man the chosen elect of his own party ! Could 
anything be imagined more chafing to the feelings of a man 
honest in his desu-es to serve his country ? Yet no ungentle- 
manly harshness, no unparliamentary language escaped the lips 
of this great man, but in the very period of chagrin and morti- 
fication he made a speech, unequalled for wit and humor. 

Mr, Buchanan's great speech on the Fiscal Bank was deliver- 
ed on the 7th day of July, 1841. We regret that the limits 
of this volume will not permit us to give it in full. We shall 
be compelled to confine ourselves to a few extracts from it, and 
give instead the greater part of his reply to Mr. Archer of Vir- 
ginia, where he presents the arguments of his main speech in a 
less detailed form. In noticing the constitutional power to pass 
the bill he said : 

" The principle of constitutional construction which would 
here deduce the power to establish a bank of the United States 
from the source where it is said to exist, would break down all 
the barriers erected by our fathers between federal and State 
authority. If you can infer this power from the simple power 
of taxation in the Constitution, I ask what other power which 
you may desire to exercise may not be inferred from that of 
some other clause ? An ingenious man might thus fasten any 
power which Congress or the President may desire to exercise, 
on some one of the express grants contained in the Constitution. 
But the incident cannot transcend its principle — the stream 



SPEECH OX THE FISCAL BANJT. 313 

cannot ascend liighcr than the fountain ; and upon tnc mere 
power of Icvyins,^ the taxes necessary to support an economical 
governnicnt, you can never erect a vast corporation tc over- 
shadow the wliole hind, and, if not in form, yet in substance, to 
change the cliaractcr of all our institutions. Never, never can 
you fairly infer the existence of the power to create a bank 
from that of the power to levy and collect taxes." 

Mr. Buchanan, after going into a detailed explanation of the 
institution proposed to be established, summed up its principal 
features as follows : 

" Then sir, that is the real government bank ; the directors 
controlled by the government, the greater portion of the stock 
held by the government, the surplus profits, if any, given to 
the government, and the most profitable business of the bank 
founded on the use of the money of the government. And 
why should such a charter have been offered to Congress by 
the secretary of the treasury department ? I shall not say 
that it was concocted there for the express purpose of erecting 
a mere engine or instrument of political' power ; but if Talley- 
rand himself had been a great financier as he was a diplomatist, 
lie could not have desired a charter more completely adapted 
to effect this purpose than the bill now before us presents. The 
Influence of this machine, located at Washington under the eye 
of the government, will be felt everywhere throughout the Union." 

One argument used in favor of a national bank was, that 
other nations had these institutions. In .'cply to this, Mr. 
Buchanan eloquently remarked : 

" Sir, other nations have emperors and kings, and titles of 
nobility, and cstabhshed churches, as well as national banks ; 
but is that any reason why the people of the United States 
should abandon their republicar, principles and imitate those 

14 



■?14 LIFE ANL) SERVICES OF JA3IES BUCHANAN. 

forei"-n forms of government ? Althougli the senator from 
Kentucky (Mr. Clay) may not, and I believe does not, desire 
sucli a change, yet he may virtually accomplish it much 
sooner than he anticipates. If he can create this great national 
bank, and ally it with the government in Washington city, on 
terms of the closest intimacy, if he can thus concentrate the 
money power here, and render its interest identical with that 
of the pohtical power, he may succeed in establishing for this 
country, not a monarchy, but the very worst form of govern- 
ment with which mankind has ever been cursed. A hereditary 
aristocracy has acquired this infamous pre-eminence, but the 
government of a moneyed aristocracy would, if possible, be 
still worse. From interest and from habit, a landed aristoc- 
racy has always cherished some feelings of kindness for the 
people ; but an upstart moneyed ai'istocracy has no heart to 
feel for them, no desire to promote their welfare. It looks 
upon mankind as mere laboring machines for its own benefit. 
It never indulges in those kindly and Christian sympathies, 
which make us feel that all men are alike created in the image 
of their Maker, and are brethren. This is a kind of govern- 
ment that may be established by an intimate union of the 
political with the money power. We may approach nearer to 
the government of the old world by establishing this bank than 
the senator or any of his friends imagine. If this should be 
the case, corruption will insinuate itself into the sinews and 
nerves, and very vitals of the body poUtic. The people will 
still attend the elections, and be flattered with the idea that 
they still enjoy all their liberties, while a secret, controlling, 
all-pervading influence would direct their conduct. The corpse 
of a free government would then only remain, whilst the ani- 
mating spirit liad fled forever. But I do not myself indulge in 
these gloomy forebodings. I am not afraid that this bank will 
ever be established ; and if ever it should, the people of this 
country will pursue it with a steady vigilance, which will never 
tire until they accomplish its destruction." 



TIIS Ki:ri,Y TO SIR. AKCHTCK. 315 

8ucli was the concluding portion of Mr. Buchanan's speech 
upon the " Fiscal Bank." The arguments he had presented 
wore unanswerable, but the decree had gone forth, and the bill 
was passed. Mr. Tyler, however, threw himself in the way of 
its becoming a law, and interposed the executive veto. Then a 
new and similar measure was devised, called the Fiscal Cor- 
poration, and upon that Mr. Buchanan delivered the following 
able speech, in reply to Mr. Archer, of Virginia : 

" The senator from Virginia concluded his remarks by telling 
us that the whig party had done a great deal at this extra ses- 
sion, I admit they have done much, and they have done one 
thing for which the country ought to be grateful — they have 
done for themselves (a laugh). The gentleman quoted to us, 
on the subject of our abstractions, a couplet from Hudibras ; 
but he stopped with the two first lines. Let me supply the 
couplet immediately following, which the senator did not quote, 
but which I think, applies quite as well to the pretended dif- 
ference between the present bill and that which the President 
has returned to us with his veto : 

' What mighty difference can there be 
'Twixt tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee ?' 

" Before I conclude, I think I shall be able to show, that if 
the President would have deserved the condemnation of all 
honest men, had he approved the bill to establish a fiscal 
bank ; having rejected that, he will deserve not only the con- 
demnation, but the contempt and ridicule of all mankind if he 
shall sign the bill to create this ' fiscal corporation.' But, while 
I express this opinion, I do not desire or intend to say any- 
thing which shall wound the feelings of my honorable friend 
from Virginia (Mr. Archer), for I can in all truth and sincerity 
declare, that if there is such a thing in the entire world of poli- 
tics as an honest man (and I doubt not there are many), I be- 
lieve my friend is that man. I think, indeed, that he has by 



316 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

some means got liimself involved in a strange delusion ; but if 
he has changed his opinion, I am certainly not to blame for 
not changing mine. 

" I desu-e to say a few things concerning this bank, before 
execution shall have been done upon it either by the President 
or the Senate ; for I believe no human being anticipates that 
such a thing as the present bill will ever become the law of the 
land. I believe further, that if all hearts here could be 
searched, it would be found that this bill is not what gentlemen 
on either side desire. 

" A word or two as to the constitutional argument of the 
senator from Virginia. If I rightly apprehend the position he 
took, his character as a State rights man is gone forever. The 
senator from South Carohna (Mr. Calhoun) need now no longer 
apprehend anything from the senator's competing with him for 
the palm. He has avowed himself a consoUdationist, and one 
of the most thorough-going of the sect. The senator says that 
the government of the United States has a right to purchase 
bills of exchange ; that it may, if it pleases, instead of ' wagon- 
ing' the specie (to use the senator's phrase) to the headwaters 
of the Missouri or Mississippi, purchase a bill which will accom- 
plish the same purpose. Undoubtedly it may; though in prac- 
tice, this is rarely, if ever, done. There is not the least diffi- 
culty in the government's transferrmg its funds to our extreme 
western frontier ; because even the very Indians will accept a 
government bill drawn on New York, and would prefer it to 
specie, knowing that it can be sold at a premium anywhere in 
the far west for gold and silver. As the next step in his argu- 
ment, the senator tells us that it is perfectly incontrovertible 
that, having the right over a part, the government must have a 
right over the whole ; that if it possesses the power, it pos- 
sesses the whole power ; that a constitutional power cannot be 
broken into fragments ; but if the power be given at all, the 
whole power must be given. And so, because government may 
purchase a bill of exchange to discharge its obligations on the 



mS EEPLT TO MR, ARCHER. 317 

western frontier, it can therefore set up a bank of exchange, 
with a capital of fifty millions of dollars, and confer on it the 
])o\ver of dealing in bills, not only for the purposes of govern- 
ment, but for the use of all the people of this country 1 A pro- 
position like this needs only to be stated. The men who 
framed the Constitution of the United States were jealous of 
federal power, and they dealt it out to Congress with a parsi- 
monious hand. What do they say in the Constitution ? Any- 
thing which gives the slightest sanction to the senator's doc- 
trine ? Not at all.. The power to transfer the public funds 
from one part of the country to another, by bills of exchange, is 
palpable. Nobody denies it. But that it should follow, as a 
necessary inference, that it has power to deal in exchange to 
every extent ; to buy and sell foreign bills between this country 
and Europe, and bills between State and State, in which it has 
no interest, is a position such as I never heard, in all my Ufe, 
from the greatest and most avowed consohdationist. Why, at 
this rate, an ingenious expositor may make the Constitution 
mean anything or nothing. But there is no foundation for any 
construction or inference in the case. The United States may 
confessedly buy and sell bills of exchange as a means of trans- 
ferring its funds ; this it has done uninterruptedly and without 
objection, for the past fifty years. But before my astute and 
very ingenious friend from Virginia made the discovery, I 
believe it never was dreamed of that such a simple power as 
this laid a foundation for the erection of our immense bank of 
exchange. 

* * . * * * * 

" There is a striking difference between the two bills (the 
Fiscal Bank and the Fiscal Corporation). The former bill 
went on the presumption that members of Congress are men of 
mortal mould ; that they possess the same passions and the 
same frailties as other men ; that they are neither better nor 
worse than their fellow citizens ; and that, as depended upon 
the vote of the two Houses of Congress whether proceedings 



318 LITE AND SEEYI0E3 OF JAilES BCCHANAX. 

should be instituted to forfeit its charter in case it were vio- 
lated, they ought not to have any accommodations from the 
bank, lest they might thus be swerved from their integrity of 
purpose. This, to be sure, was a very severe restriction, 
because gentlemen may desire, like some of their predecessors, 
to form another congressional land company, and it might be 
very convenient to obtain money on kiteflying bills, as some of 
their predecessors had done. Under similar circumstances, it 
would certainly be a very convenient matter for a member of 
Congress to fly a kite as far as Baltimore for ten or twenty 
thousand dollars, and no doubt he would find the bank 
extremely accommodating. Another advantage* is, that if he 
should not be able to pay at maturity, there is not the least 
danger that he will be ever publicly exposed. I beheve it is a 
rule in love never to kiss and tell, and this rule has been most 
pertinaciously observed by the old corrupt and rotten Bank of 
the United States. If that bank accommodated members of 
Congress — and we know it did, to an immense amount — it has 
always refused to give up their names. The tears and the 
groans of the widows and orphans whom it has ruined have 
ascended to heaven, and accused its directors. These directors 
have been changed again and again, but still they have kept 
the secret. No resolves and no efforts of this body, or of the 
other House, have ever been able to extort it from them. 
There is among the secret arcana of that bank a document 
known by the name of the ' suspended list,' which, if ever pub- 
lished, would give the infoi'mation ; but every human being 
who has had access to that paper, has most religiously kept the 
secret. If they had not, it may be that men who now hold 
their heads very high, and who occupy distinguished stations in 
the State, would be covered with shame, and humbled in the 
very dust. Could that list be procured, it is at least possible 
that we might learn how bank accommodations can be paid off 
by the transfer of lots in lithographed paper cities, and value- 
less western lands. Happily under this bUl these golden oppor- 



ni3 KEPLY TO MR. AIJCUEK. 319 

tu\TtiiS »t:r, i-jjcihi. be siffordcd, and the v>-'md will again prove 
fair f^;- .TOQibovs of Congress to fly their kites as well as other 
nie!i. 

" And bero Isl u:e point ont something of the working of this 
new patent miicbine. Why, sir, to use a western phrase, ' it 
will go without greasing,' there will be uo manner of difficulty 
in the way. The borrower iu Philadelphia will, as I told you, 
draw his bill on son:e far remote' city in another State — such 
as Camden, and when his bill is due, his bona fide correspondent 
in Camden can draw back on him just such another on Pliila- 
delphia, and thus, without discounting a single promissory note, 
the bank can lend more money and make more profit than if its 
discounting power were without restriction. 1 was really 
astonished to hear the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Archer) 
assert, whilst he denounced the power of discount as being so 
immense and dangerous, and so utterly inadmissible, that this 
other power of dealing in exchanges was the most benign, the 
most beneficent, and the most felicitous power that ever was 
devised by man and that a bUl which conferred it should, as a 
matter of course, unite in its favor the vote of all the "Whig 
])arty. Then there is the city of New York and Jersey city. 
If the honorable senator should, at any time, want a loan, he 
has only to fly his kite across the Hudson river, and he can 
readily be accommodated." 

Mr. Archer—" I never drew a bill which had one character 
and asserted another." 

" Yes, but when you establish a bank of such a character as this, 
you must expect that such consequences will follow. A bank 
from which all restrictions are taken away, and at whose coun- 
ter the whole speculating world is invited to borrow — from 
such a bank, what else can yon expect ? It will loan money 
of^ bills of exchange, instead of loaning on promissory notes, 
and for ray soul, I cannot perceive any essential difl"erence 
between the two modes. The only effect in thus changing the 
form will be to induce men to commit fraud. Instead of draw- 



320 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN 

ing on real funds, tliej will draw bills on places where theyliavo 
nothing to answer them. They will thus make their loans, and 
the bank make its profits, with this only ditference — that they 
have to pay a httle more for their money, while the bank will 
receive a larger interest, in the name of a premium, than the 
law would allow it to take on the discount of a promissory note. 
I can see that some cities — and cities of great business, too — 
will derive little benefit from this bill. Buffalo, for example, 
and Pittsburgh, will both be in a 'bad fix,' for Buffalo cannot 
draw on New York ; nor Pittsburgh on Philadelphia, and why ? 
Because under this wise bill, two cities in the same State can- 
not draw on each other. I cannot unagine how the merchants 
who conduct the immense flour and other business of Buffalo 
will be able to obtain accommodations, unless, indeed, they resort 
to flying kites to the Canada shore, and they present foreign 
bills to the bank for discount. Cincinnati will be well off, 
because Newj^ort is just across the river, and the drawer and 
the acceptor will be almost withiu hail of each other. This 
machine, such as I have described it, will regulate the price of 
every commodity in the country, and it will be done by this 
kite-flying process. 

* * * * * * 

" And now I have one word to say on the late presidential 
veto, and then I shall have done. It has been said that John 
Tyler was bound by the fidelity which he owed to his party to 
approve the bill for a fiscal bank. I deny it altogether, and 
say that, if he had approved that bill, he would have deserved 
to be denounced as a self-destroyer, as false to the whole course 
of his past life, false to every principle of honor, and false 
to the sacred obligation of his oath to support the Consti- 
tution, lie had declared, again and again, that such a bank 
was unconstitutional, and yet he is denounced because he did 
not render himself infamous by an utter disregard of that 
instrument. The President had but one righteous course 
before him, and had he taken any other, it would not only have 



HIS EEPLY TO MR. AKCIIER. 321 

blasted liis own character, but it woula nave fixea a blot on tbe 
history of his country to all future generations. How was he 
committed to sign a bill which he believed to be unconstitu- 
tional ? What was the history of the Ilarrisburgh convention ? 
— and it will be remembered that I do not live far from that 
celebrated place. How was that convention composed ? It 
contained, I admit, many men of the highest responsibility, but 
in a political view, it was made up 'of all nations, and people, 
and kindred, and tongues.' ' Black spirits and white, blue spir- 
its and grey,' all mingled their counsels there, to attain a sin- 
gle end — an available candidate for the Presidency. In this 
they succeeded ; and the result was, to turn Mr. Van Buren 
out, and put themselves in. The infidel philosopher Volney, in 
his celebrated ' Ruins of Empires,' presents us with an imagin- 
ary picture of an assemblage, in which all the religious sects of 
the earth were collected together, and engaged in defending 
their respective creeds ; and such a confusion ensued as might 
put to shame that at the tower of Babel. Just so would it 
have been at Harrisburg, if they had attempted to discuss any 
political principles. There was the abohtionist, ready to call 
down fire from Eeaven to annihilate slavery from the face of 
the earth ; and side by side with him sat the honorable and 
high-spu-ited Southern slaveholder. There was the anti-mason, 
whose motto was, ' destruction to all secret societies,' mingling in 
sweet communion with the bank director, who, with the fidelity 
of a vestal, had preserved the secrets of his prison-house. 
There was the consolidationist, holding, as my friend from 
Virginia does, that the mere power to bay a bill of 
exchange, vested in Congress the power to create an exchange 
bank ; while band and hand with him we might see the tight- 
laced strict constructionist, who will not allow the government 
power to do anything. In that one motley assembly were 
to be seen all colors and all shades of political opinion 
From absolute necessity, not from choice, they were compelled 
to abstain from making any public declaration of their prin 

14* 



322 LIFE AND SEEVICES OF JAJMES BUCHAJSTAN. 

ciples. Now, if JoIiq Tyler had a right to infer anything from 
the proceedings of that body, it was that he would be at liberty 
to oppose a bank of the United States. Certain leaders of that 
convention were, it is true, in favor of a bank ; but, while the 
convention, as a body, selected well known anti-bank men as 
then- chosen candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, 
were those candidates to infer that they must change all their 
opinions and become bank men ? Sir, I deplored the death of 
General Harrison, from the deep respect I entertained for his 
name and character, however much I may have differed from 
his political principles. But General Harrison was, par excel- 
lence, an anti-bank man. All his public declarations, up to the 
very moment of the election, established this fact. Nay, more, 
we who have been denounced as the loco-foco, barn-burning, 
agrarian portion of our party, because we assert the constitu- 
tional right to repeal a pubhc coiiDoration intrusted with the 
sovereign power of managing the finances of the country, when 
the public interest demands it, may claim him as a brother ia 
the faith ; for when a resolution was introduced in the House, 
in 1819, to repeal at a single blow the charter of the late 
bank, he voted in its favor ; and as to John Tyler, he has so 
often declared himself against a Bank of the United States, 
that there is no need I should specially refer any gentleman 
to his opinion on that subject. There they both were, holding 
these opinions, and having only avowed them ; and it is utterly 
impossible that the members of this convention should have been 
ignorant of the fact. The convention, then, made no avowal 
of its principles, and what was the voice of the people ? I can 
truly say that, during the whole election campaign, I never saw 
one single resolution in favor of a national bank, which had 
been passed by any whig meeting in any part of the coun- 
try. 

******* 

" I say that President Tyler could not have done otherwise 
than veto that bUl, if he wished to preserve his character as an 



nrs REPLY TO MK. ARCHER. 323 

honest man. He must have done it from necessity, if not from 
choice. He could not have approved and signed that bill with- 
out exhibiting to the American people the disgraceful spectacle 
of a high public officer contradicting all the professions of his 
past life, and giving the He to all his own often-avowed princi- 
ples. A rumor exists, we have been told on this floor, that the 
veto was given against the unanimous opinion of the cabinet. 
And suppose it was, who is responsible to the people of the 
United States for conducting the government ? Is it not the 
President ? Undoubtedly he ought to consult the opinions of 
the cabinet ; but if he and his cabinet cannot agree in 
sentiment, which is to yield — the cabinet or the President ? 
Certainly, according to the theory of oar government, it is the 
cabinet. I was glad to find in the official organ of the 
administration, such good old-fasliioucd democratic doctrine as I 
saw there a few days since. It is true I was not, to every ex- 
tent, in favor of ' the mint ;' but I would say, in behalf of the ar- 
ticle to which I refer, that it is one of the best I have ever read, 
and one that would not disgrace the palmiest day of the demo- 
cratic administration. If the President cannot agree with his 
cabinet, or if the cabinet cannot agree with the President, I do 
not say what ought to be the consqucnces. I have no feeling on 
the suVtject ; it matters nothing to me who are in, and who are 
out of office. 

" The senator from Kentucky tells us that he never said 
President Tyler ought to have resigned, but only that resigna- 
tion -was one of the alternatives before him. A President 
resign ! A President who had been but three months in power 
resign his place 1 "Why, sir, this is a 'most a moral impossibil- 
ity, so deeply is the love of power rooted in the human breast. 
No President will ever think of doing any such thing. In the 
whole range of history, I recollect but two memorable instances 
of the kind ; one was that of the Roman emperor Diocletian, 
and the other of the emperor Charles V. The Roman emperor, 
you know, went to raising cabbages, as Mr. Yan Buren is now 



324 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

doing ; and Charles buried himself before he was dead — a very 
fit emblem of the condition of a President who should resign 
his ofBce, that he might suffer a bill for the fiscal bank to be- 
come a law." 

The happy conclusion of Mr. Buchanan's speech caused much 
merriment, and he resumed bis seat amid a general laugh. Mr. 
Clay immediately rose and repHed, and in opening, referred 
pleasantly to Mr. Buchanan's attempt at wit, and advised the 
senator from Pennsylvania, with his permission, that his appro- 
priate province was logic or grave debate, rather than wit. Mr. 
Clay said, however, he trusted he would be excused if he should 
happen while up, to catch by contagion, somewhat of the same 
vein. Mr. Clay then made the following humorous speech, de- 
scriptive of a reported interview between some of the democratic 
members of Congress and President Tyler, convulsing, as he 
proceeded, the Senate with laughter : 

"An honorable senator from Xew Uampshire (Mr. Wood- 
bury) proposed, some days ago, a resolution of iuquiry into cer- 
tain disturbances which are said to have occurred at the presi- 
dential mansion on the night of the memorable 16th of August 
last. If any such proceedings did occur, they were certainly 
very wrong and highly culpable. The chief magistrate, who- 
ever he may be, should be treated by every good citizen with 
all becoming respect, if not for his personal character, on ac- 
count of the exalted office which he holds for and from the peo- 
ple ; and I will here say that I read with great pleasure the acta 
and resolutions of an early meeting, promptly held by the 
orderly and respectable citizens of this metropolis, in reference 
to, and in condemnation of, these disturbances. But, if the 
resolution had been adopted, I had intended to move for the 
appointment of a select committee, and that the honorable sen- 
ator from New Hampshire himself should be placed at the 
head of it, with a majority of his friends, and will tell you why, 



MR. clay's KKI'LT. 325 

'^^r. President. I did hear that about eight or nine o'clock, on 
the same night of the famous 16th of August, there was au 
irruption on the President's house, of the whole loco-foco party 
iu Congress, and I did not know but that the alleged disorder 
might have grown out of, or had some coauection with that fact. 
(A laugh.) I understand that the whole party were there. No 
ppcctacle I am sure could have been more supremely amusing and 
ridiculous. If I could have been in a position in which, without 
being seen, I could have witnessed that most extraordinary reun- 
ion, I should have had an enjoyment which no dramatic perfor- 
mance could possibly communicate. I think that I can now sec 
the principal dramatis personse who figured in the scene. — 
There stood the grave and distinguished senator from South 
Carolina." 

}klr. Calhoun here rose, and earnestly insisted on explaining ; 
but Mr. Clay refused to be interrupted or to yield the 
floor. 

Mr. Clay : " There I say, I can imagme stood the senator 
from South Carolina — tall, careworn, with furrowed brow, 
haggard, and intensely gazing, looking as if he were discussing 
the last and newest abstraction which sprung from metaphysi- 
cian's brain, and muttering to himself, in half-uttered sounds : 
' This is indeed a real crisis I ' (Loud laughter.) Then there 
was the senator from Alabama (Mr. King) standing upright 
and gracefully, as if he were ready to settle in the most autho- 
ritative manner any question of order or of etiquette that 
might possibly arise between the high asscraljled parties on that 
new and uniirecedcnted occasion. Not far off stood the honor- 
able senators from Arkansas and from Missouri (Mr. Sevier and 
Mr. Benton) the latter looking at the senator from South Caro- 
lina, with an iudiguant curl on his lip and scorn in his eye, and 
pointing his finger with contempt towards that senator (Mr. 
Calhoun) whilst he said, or rather seemed to say : ' He call 
himself a statesman ! why, he has never even produced a de- 
cent humbug I '" (Shouts of laughter.) 



326 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Mr. Benton here interposed by saying tliat tlic senator from 
Missouri was not tliere. 

Mr Clay : " I stand corrected ; I was only imaginin<5 what 
you would have said if you had been there. (Renewed laughter.) 
Then there stood the senator from Georgia (Mr. Cuthbert) con- 
ning over in his mind on what point he should make his next 
attack upon the senator from Kentucky. (Laughter.) On 
yonder ottoman reclined the other senator from Missouri on my 
left (Mr. Linn) indulging, with smiles on his face, in pleasing 
meditations on the rise, growth and future power of his new 
colony of Oregon. The honorable senator from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Buchanan) I presume stood forward as spokesman for his 
wiiole party, and, although I cannot pretend to imitate his well 
known eloquence, I beg leave to make an humble essay towards 
what I presume to have been the kind of speech delivered by 
him on that August occasion : 

" ' May it please your Excellency : A number of your present 
political friends, late your political opponents, in company with 
myself, have come to deposit at your excellency's feet the 
evidences of our loyalty and devotion ; and they have done me 
the honor to make me the organ of their sentiments and feel- 
ings. We are here more particularly to present to your excel- 
lency our^grateful and most cordial congratulations on your 
rescue of the country from a flagrant and alarming violation of 
the Constitution, by the creation of a bank of the United 
States ; and also our profound acknowledgments for the veto, 
by which you have illustrated the wisdom of your administra- 
tion, and so greatly honored yourself. And we would dwell 
particularly on the unanswerable reasons and cogent arguments 
with which the notification of the act to the legislature has 
been accompanied. We had been, ourselves, struggling for 
days and weeks to arrest the passage of the bUI, and to pre- 
vent the creation of the monster to which it gives birth. We 
have expended all our logic, exerted all our ability, employed 

air our eloquence ; but in spite of all our utmost efforts the 



KEJOTl^DER TO MK. CLAY. 32Y 

friends of your excellency in the Senate and Iloiise of Repre- 
sentatives proved too strong for us. And we have now come 
most heartily to thank your excellency that you have accom- 
plished for us that against your friends which we with our 
most strenuous exertions were unable to achieve.' (Koars of 
laughter.) 

" I hope the senator will view with indulgence this effort to 
represent him, although I am but too sensible how far it falls 
short of the merits of the original. At all events he will feel 
that there is not a greater error than was committed by the 
stenographer of the 'Intelligencer' the other day, when he 
put into my mouth a part of the honorable senator's speech. 
(Laughter.) I hope the honorable senators in the other side 
of the chamber will pardon me for having conceived it possible 
that, amidst the popping of champagne, the intoxication of 
their joy, the extasy of their glorification, they might have 
been the parties who created a disturbance of which they never 
could have been guilty had they waited for their ' sober second 
• thoughts.' (Laughter, loud and long.) I have no doubt the very 
learned ex-Secretary of the Treasury, who conducted that de- 
partment with such distinguished abihty, and such happy results 
to the country, and now has such a profound abhorrence of all 
the taxes on tea and coffee, though, in his official reports, he so 
distinctly recommended them, would if appointed chau-man of 
the committee, have conducted the investigation with that in- 
dustry which so eminently distinguishes him, and would have 
favored the Senate with a report, marked with all his accus- 
tomed precision and ability, and with the most perfect lucid 
clearness." 

Wlicu Mr. Clay had concluded, Mr. Buchanan rose and re- 
joined m the following graceful and eloquent speech : 

"The senator has informed me that I do not succeed in 
attempts at wit, and in this he is, doubtless, correct. I am a 



32S LIFE AXD SERVICES OF JAMKS BUCUANAN. 

plain man, and speak right on that which I have to say. I 
think i can, with equal justice, return his compliment. If I do 
not succeed at wit, he as rarely succeeds in argument. Argu- 
ment is as little his province as wit is mine. He is eloquent, 
as we all know, and sagacious, and besides, he is the very best 
drill-officer that ever disciplined any party ; but, in regard to 
sound logic, or what he denominates ' abstractions,' he is not 
very famous. 

" The honorable senator has, with great power of humor, 
and much felicity of description, drawn for us a picture of the 
scene which he supposes to have been presented at the Presi- 
dent's house on the ever memorable evening of the riot. It 
was a happy effort ; but unfortunately, it was but a fancy- 
sketch, at least, or as far as I am concerned. I was not there 
at all upon the occasion. But, I ask, what scenes were enacted 
on that eventful night at this end of the avenue ? The senator 
would have no cause to complain, if I should attempt, in hum- 
ble imitation of him, to present a picture, true to the life, of 
the proceedings of himself and his friends amidst the dark and 
lowering clouds of that never-to-be-forgotten night, a caucus 
assembled in one of the apartments of this gloomy building, 
and sat in melancholy conclave, deploring the unhappy fate of 
the whig party. Some rose and advocated vengeance ; ' theu* 
voice was still for war.' Others, more moderate, sought to 
repress the ardent zeal of their fiery compatriots, and advised 
to peace and prudence. It was finally concluded that, instead 
of making open war upon Captain Tyler, they should resort to 
stratagem, and, in the elegant language of one of their number, 
that they should endeavor ' to head ' him. The question was 
earnestly debated by what means they could best accomplish 
this purpose, and it was resolved to try the efFoct of the ' fis- 
cality ' now before us. Unfortunately for the success of the 
scheme, " Captain Tyler ' was forewarned and forearmed, by 
means of a private and confidential letter, addressed by mis- 
take to a Virginia Coffee-House. It is by means like this, that 



REJOINDER TO MK. CLAY. 329 

'enterprises of great pith and moment' often fail. But so 
desperately intent are the whig party still on the creation of 
a bank, that one of my friends on this side of the house told 
me that a bank they would have, though its exchanges should 
be made in bacon hams, and its currency be small potatoes. 
(A laugh.) 

" The senator has often lauded to the very echo the Mace- 
donian phalanx, as he terms them, in the other house, and 
proposed their example as worthy of our imitation. Now, sir, 
I should never have made any reference upon this floor to the 
proceedings in that house (which is contrary to all parlia- 
mentary rule), had I not been driven to it by the previous 
remarks of the senator. Before heaven, I believe that the 
conduct of that phalanx, of which the senator seems so proud, 
forebodes the destruction of the liberties of this country, unless 
the sovereign people should frown it down forever. If the 
representatives of fifty thousand freemen can be deprived of the 
right of speech by arbitrary rules prescribed by a tyrannica? 
majority, and the people of the United States should tamely 
submit to such a violation of their liberties in the persons ot 
their representatives, then they will deserve to be slaves. Let it 
once be fully known throughout the country that those whom 
tne people have selected to represent their sentiments and their 
interests in the other branch of Congress have been prevented 
from expressing then* opinions, and have even been denied the 
poor privilege of recording their votes on questions of the last 
importance ; and then, if their constituents should silently 
acquiesce in this usurpation, we shall be subjected to the same 
tyranny with that imposed upon France by Napoleon, when he 
organized his silent Legislative Council. I did not believe that 
the House of Representatives had been reduced to any snch 
condition, until I read the able letter upon the subject, of a 
member from South Carolina (Mr. Rhett). With that letter 
in my hand, I would go into any congressional district of this 
Union, and, humble as I am, I should feci confident of obtain- 



830 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

iiig the unanimous Toice of the people in condemnation of such 
proceedings as it descrilDes. This question soars far above all 
mere party distinctions. It is one upon the decision of which 
depends the efficient existence of our representative republican 
form of government. 

" The present bill to establish fiscal corporation was hurried 
through the House with the celerity, and so far as the 
democracy was concerned, with the silence of despotism. No 
democrat had an opportunity of raising his voice against it. 
Under the new rules in existence there, the majority had pre- 
determined that it should pass that body within two days from 
the commencement of the discussion. At first, indeed, the deter- 
mination was, that it should pass the first day ; but this was 
too great an outrage, and the mover was graciously pleased 
to extend the time one day longer. Whilst the bill was in 
Committee of the Whole, it so happened that in the struggle 
for the floor, no democratic member succeeded in obtaining it ; 
and at the destined hour of four in the afternoon of the second 
day, the committee rose and all further debate was arrested 
by the previous question. The voice of that great party in 
this country, to which I am proud to belong, was, therefore, 
never heard through any of their representatives in the House 
against this odious measure. Not even one brief hour, the 
limit prescribed by the majority to each speaker, was granted 
to any democratic member. 

" But the democracy of the land are not only deprived of 
the liberty of speech in the persons of their representatives, 
but these representatives are even denied the right of record- 
ing their vote on the ayes and noes, for or against any amend- 
ment to any bill, unless the majority please to grant them this 
permission. Under the rule, the ayes and noes cannot be de- 
manded in Committee of the "Whole. Every amendment 
offered there, which is disagreeable to the majority, is voted 
down without any responsibility of the representative to his 
constituents, because the names of the voters are not recorded 



REJOINDEK TO MR. CLAY. 331 

on t'le journal ; and it is impossible to renew any such 
ameudment after the bill has been reported to the House, 
because at that very instant the gag of the previous question 
is applied, which cuts off all debate and every amendment not 
sanctioned by the committee. And this is the bright, the 
glorious example which the senator from Kentucky has so 
often proposed for the imitation of the Senate of the United 
States 1 But enough of this. 

" The senator, with his usual tact and skill, has seized upon 
a playful remark of mine in reply to my friend from Virginia 
(Mr. Archer), over the way, that, although I did not know at 
present what might be the opinions of Mr. Tyler, yet, I hoped 
this might not long be the case. Upo» this feeble foundation, 
the senator, with that commanding eloquence which is ever 
ready, has indulged himself in declaring that John Tyler would 
be guilty of the most atrocious treason, should he be willing 
to desert his own party, and ally himself with the democracy ; 
and in that event, lie has expressed the confident belief that 
we would be too honorable to receive him into our ranks. 
Now, sir, if the avowed opinions of Mr. Tyler's whole hfe be, as 
they are, m diametrical opposition to those of the senator, what 
course is he to pursue ? Must he abandon his long cherished 
principles mei*ely because they are identical with those of the 
democratic party ? And is he to be denounced as a traitor for 
th's mere coincidence of opinion ? This would, indeed, be 
unjust vengeance. Ko man of the democratic party, to my 
knowledge, either expects or desires oiBce or power at his 
hands. I will tell the honorable senator, however, what we do 
uitend, although we have studiously kept ourselves aloof from 
all interference with the President, and from every attempt to 
influence his conduct. So far as his measures shall be in 
conformity with our principles, we shall give them a cordial 
and zealous support. Should the senator, in utter viohitiou, 
as we believe, of the Constitution, again attempt to estabUsh a 
National Bank, with the privilege of spreading its branches 



332 LIFE AND SEKVICE8 OF JAMES BUCUANAN. 

tlirougliout the Union, and thus, hy concentrating the money 
power, to corrupt the land ; and should the President again 
and again conscientiously veto such a dangerous measure, we 
shall be ever ready to yield him our support in a cause so 
righteous. Whatever the senator may think of us, we shall 
cheer him on in the path of duty with, ' Well done, good and 
faithful servant, you have redeemed your country from an 
institution in deadly hostility both to the spirit and letter of 
our form of government ; and will the whigs charge him with 
treason for this ? The idea of falsehood is always involved in 
that of treason, and they never can succeed in branding a man 
as a traitor for adhering to the well-known principles of his 
whole life. • 

" The senator expects that President Tyler will approve this 
bill. If he does, he will then render himself forever infamous. 
His name will be the scorn and ridicule of one party, and the 
contempt of the other. No, he will never do it ; destiny has 
left him but one course to pursue as an honest man, and that 
is to go straight ahead, and fearlessly perform his duty. He 
cannot now turn back without disgrace and dishonor. If he 
shall pursue this course, a vast majority of the American people 
of all political parties will award to him the merit of having 
sacrificed all his personal feelings, and encountered the frowns of 
many of his ancient friends, from a sacred regard to the Con- 
stitution and welfare of his country. This will be his reward. 
He will then stand forever in a niche of the temple of fame, 
associated with those pure and exalted patriots which have 
sacrificed all selfish considerations to save the country. 

" As for our party, we want neither patronage nor power, 
from John Tyler. We shall give him a liberal and manly 
support whenever we believe he deserves it. Let all the offi- 
ces and all the honors be given, with our hearty consent, to 
those who elected him. 

" When I rose in reply, I had intended to reciprocate the 
kindness of the senator, and make a speech to the whig 



REJOINDER TO MR. CLAY. 333 

caucus for him, as he has done to the Presidcut for me. It 
was my purpose to have presented to the Senate a faint imi- 
tation of what I conjecture he must have said on that night 
of sorrow and gloom. I think I know the senator well 
enough to imagine just such a speech as he must have made 
upon that occasion. But I forbear it ; it must have been both 
eloquent and efficient ; for I beheve, in my soul, that no 
other drill-officer in existence could have reanimated his dis- 
fepirited and scattered forces, and again brought them up to 
the charge in solid columu to sustain such a thing as this 
' fiscal corporation.' " 

The fiscal corporation passed both houses of Congress but 
unfortunately for the success of ^[r. Clay's policy it shared the 
same fate with the executive as the first bill. 

At this session the celebrated case of Alexander McLeod 
came before Congress, and was discussed with great spirit and 
animation. The circumstances are generally known, but we 
were brioQy recapitulate them. In 183T a rebellion or revo- 
lution was commenced in Canada having for its object a separa- 
tion of that country from England. An American vessel, the 
Caroline, had been accused of carrying provisions and arms to 
the insurgents. This report had excited a determination on the 
part of the English officers to destroy it, but they did not 
choose to wait if perchance they might detect the Caroline on 
their territory in unlawful trade, but resolved to attack and 
destroy her, upon American soil. One Captain Drew of the 
British army it appears gave notice, " that upon a certain night 
he wanted fifty or sixty desperate fellows to follow him to the 
devil." At all events while the steamer Caroline was lying at 
her dock on the American shore she was boarded by a gang of 
outlaws who killed one man and then towing the steamer out 
in the stream sent her over Niagara Falls. Some time after this, 
one Alexander McLeod came in the State of New York and 
boasted that he had been one of the number engaged in tho 



334 LIFE AND SEETICES OF JAMES BUCHANA^iT. 

murder on board the Caroline and in the destruction of the ves 
scl. lie was arrested upon the charge of murder, and while in 
custody therefor, a demand was made upon" our goveruinent by 
England for him. Mr. B. took ground against yielding to this de- 
mand, contending that if the man were actually guilty he should 
be tried and condemned according to the laws of the State 
where the crime was committed. After concluding this portion 
of a speech of great power upon this case, he ended • by an 
admirable resume of the law of nations as bearing upon the 
question as follows : 

" I shall now offer a few remarks on the question of public 
law involved in this case, and then close what I have to say. 
I sincerely, believe the administration of Mr. Van Buren was 
perfectly correct on this doctrine, as laid down by Mr. Forsyth. 
If I had found any authority to induce me to entertain a 
doubt on that point, I would refer to it most freely. I now 
undertake to say that the only cu-cumstance which has produced 
confusion and doubts in the minds of well informed men on this 
subject is, that they do not make the proper distinction between 
a state of national war and national peace. If a nation be at 
war, the command of the sovereign power to invade the terri- 
tory of its enemy, and do battle there against any hostile force, 
always justifies the troops thus engaged. 

" When any of the invaders are seized, they are considered 
as prisoners of war, and as having done nothing, but what the 
laws of war justified them in doing. In such a case they can 
never be held to answer, criminally in the courts of the invaded 
country. That is clear. The invasion of an enemy's territory 
is one of the rights of war, and, in all its necessary consequen- 
ces, is justified by the laws of war. But there are offences com- 
mitted even in open war, which the express commanu of the 
offender's sovereign will not shield from exemplary punishment. 
I will give, gentlemen, an example. A spy will be hung, if 
caught, even though he acted under the express command ot 



SPEECH OX THE MCLEOD CASE. 335 

his sovereign. Wc might cite the case of the unfortunate !Ma- 
jor Andre. lie was arrested on his return ft-om an interview 
with Arnold, and his life being in danger, the British com- 
mander (Sir Henry Clinton I believe) made an effort to save 
liim, by taking upon himself the responsibility of the act. But 
although he had crossed our lines whilst the two nations were 
in a state of open and flagrant war, in obedience to instructions 
from his commander in chief, yet Washington, notwithstanding, 
rightfully hung him as a spy. 

" Now, let me tell whoever shall answer me (if, indeed any 
gentleman will condescend to notice what I have said, for it 
seems, we on this side of the House, are to do all the speaking, 
and they all the voting), that whilst all the modern authorities 
concur in declaring that the law of nations protects individuals 
when obeying the orders of their sovereign, during a state of 
open and flagrant war, whether it has been solemnly declared 
or not, and whether it be general or partial, yet these authori- 
ties proceed no farther. But, to decide correctly on the appli- 
cation of this principle in the case before us, we must recollect 
that the two belligerents here were England on the one hand 
and her insurgent subjects on the other, and that the Unite? 
States were a neutral power in perfect peace with England. 
But what is the rule in regard to nations at peace with each 
other ? This is the question. As between such nations, does 
the command of an inferior ofQccr of the one, to individuals 
to violate the sovereignty of the other, and commit murder and 
arson, if afterwards recognized by the supreme authority, pro- 
vcut the nation whose laws have been outraged from punishing 
the offenders ? Under such circumstances, what is the law 
of nations ? The doctrine is laid down in Vattel, an author 
admitted to be of the highest authority on questions of interna- 
tional law ; and the very question 'totidera verbis' which arises 
in this case, is in his book stated and decided. He admits that 
the lawful commands of a legitimate government, whether to its 
trooDS or other citizens, protects them from individual responsi- 



336 LIFE AND BERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

bility for hostile. acts done in obedience to such commands, whilst 
in a state of open war. In such a case, a prisoner of war is never 
to be subjected to the criminal jurisdiction of the country within 
which he has been arrested. But what is the law of nations in 
regard to criminal offences committed by the citizens or subjects 
of one power, with the sovereignty of and jurisdiction of another, 
they being at peace with each other, even if these criminal acts 
should be recognized and justified by the offender's sovereign ? 
This is the case of capture and destruction of the Caroline. 
The subject is treated of by Vattel, under the head ' of the 
concern a nation may have in the actions of her citizen",' book 
6, chap, ii., page 161. I shall read sections 73, 74 and 15. 

" ' However, as it is impossible,' says the author, ' for the 
best regulated state, or for the most vigilant and absolute 
sovereign, to model at his pleasure all the actions of his subjects, 
and to confine them on every occasion to the most exact obe- 
dience, it would be unjust to impute to the nation or the 
sovereign every fault committed by the citizens. We ought 
not, then, to say in general that w^e have received an injury 
from a nation, because we have received it from one of its 
members.' 

" 'But f a nation or its chief approves and ratifies the act 
of the individual, it then becomes a public concern, and the 
injured party is then to consider the nation as the real author of 
the injury, of which the citizen was perhaps only the instru- 
ment.' 

" ' If the offended state has in her power the individual who 
has done the injury, she may without scruple, bring him to jus- 
tice and punish him. If he has escaped, and returned to his 
own country, she ought to apply to his sovereign to have jus- 
tice done in the case.' 

" Can any thing in the world be clearer ? The author 
puts the case distinctly. The nation injured ought not to 



BPEECn ON 1UK MC LEOU CASE. 337 

impute to the sovereign of a friendly nation the acts of its 
iiidividual citizens, but if such friendly sovereign shall recognize 
the act as his own, it then becomes a national concern. But 
does such a recognition wash away the guilt of the ofTeuder, and 
release him from the punishment due to his offence under the 
jurisdiction of the country whose laws he has violated ? Let 
Yattel answer this question. He says : ' If the offended state 
has in her power the individual who has done the injury, she 
may, without scruple, bring him to justice and punish him.' 
There is the direct, plain and palpable authority ; and, here 
permit me to add, that I think 1 can prove, that according to 
sound reason, the principle is correct, and that the question 
would now be so decided by our courts, even if the law of 
nations had been silent on the subject. This not only is, but 
ought to be, the principle oC pubUc law. 

" Mr. Webster, in his letter to Mr. Cox, of the 24th of April, 
tells the British minister that the line of frontier which separates 
the United States from her Britannic Majesty's North American 
Provinces ' is long enough to divide the whole of Europe into 
halves.' 

" This is true enough. Now by admitting the doctrine of 
Vattel to be incorrect and unfounded, on what consequences 
are we forced ? I beg senators to consider this question. The 
line which separates us from the British Provinces is a line 
long enough to divide Europe into halves. Heaven knows I 
have no desire to see a rebellion in Canada, or the Canadian 
Provinces annexed to the United States ; but no event in futu- 
rity is more certain than that those provinces are destined to be 
ultimately separated from the British Empire. Let a civil war 
conic, and ' jt every McNab who shall then have any command 
in tlie British pcesessions along this long line be permitted to 
send a mihtary expedition into the territory of the United States, 
whenever he shall believe or pretend that it will aid in defend- 
ing the royal authority against those who are resisting it, and 
war between Great Britain and the United States becomes 

15 



338 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

mevitaWe. A British subject marauding under the orders of 
his superior officer on this side of the line, is seized in the very 
act. Well, what is to be done ? I suppose we are to wait 
until we can ascertain whether his government chooses to recog- 
nize his hostile or criminal act, before we can inflict the punish- 
ment which he deserves for violating our laws. If it should 
recognize his act, the jail door is immediately to be thrown open, 
tlie offender, it may be murderer, takes his flight to Canada, 
and we must settle the question with the British government. 
Such is the doctrine advanced by the British government and 
our Secretary of State. This principle would, as I say, lead 
us inevitably into war with that power. What can be done 
in a state of war ? In that case, the laws of war provide that 
persons invading our territory who are captured, shall be con- 
sidered and treated as prisoners of war. But while the two 
countries continued at peace, a man taken in the flagiant act 
of invasion and violence, cannot be made a prisoner of war. 
McLeod, however, is not to be treated on this principle, and 
punished under our laws if he be guilty, lest we should offend 
the majesty of England. The laws of New York are to be 
nullified, and the murderer is to run at large. 

" But if the principle laid down by Vattel be sound and true, 
all difficulty at once vanishes. If such an offender be caught 
in the perpetration of a criminal act, he is then punished for his 
crime. Let him be tried for it at least, and then, if there are 
any mitigating circumstances in his case, for the sake of good 
neighborhood, let him escape. There will then be no danger of 
war from this cause. Let me suppose a case. Suppose Colonel 
Allen McNab should take it into his head that there exists in 
the United States a conspiracy against the British government, 
and should believe that he could unravel the whole plot by seiz- 
ing on tlie United States mail m its passage from New York to 
Buffalo — he places himself at the bead of a party, comes over 
the line, and seizes and robs the mail ; but in the act he is 
overpowered and arrested, and he is indicted before a criminal 



SPEECH ON THE MC LEOD CASE. 839 

court of the United States. Will it be maintained, if the Brit- 
ish govornraeut should say, We recognize the act of McNab in 
robbing your mail, as wc have already recognized that of his 
burning your steamboat and killing your citizens, that Mr. 
^\''ebster would be justified in directing a nolle prosequi to be 
entered in his favor, and thus suffer him to go free ? 

" I do not say that the British government would act in this 
manner, but I put the case as a fair illustration of the argu- 
ment. There was one case in which something very like this 
might have happened, and it was even thought probable that it 
would happen. It was reported that an expedition had been 
})lanned to seize the person of ^McLeod, and to oarry him off to 
Canada ; and I believe that a very distinguished and a gallant 
general in the United States service (Gen. Scott) — an officer 
for whom, in common with his fellow-citizens, I cherish the 
highest respect and regard — went, in company with the Attor- 
ney General, to Lockport ; and it was conjectured that he had 
received orders to hold McLeod and defend the Lockport jail 
against any incursion of Sir Allen McNab or any other person. 

" Suppose now that such an expedition had been set on foot, 
tliat it had succeeded, and that McLeod had been seized and 
carried off in triumph, the two nations being still in profound 
peace. The rescue of a prisoner is high crimiual offence. What 
would have been done with McXab if he had voluntarily come 
within our jurisdiction and been arrested ? If he could be in- 
dicted, and tried, and punished before the British government 
should have time to recognize his act — very well. But if not, 
then, at the moment of such recognition, he would be no 
longer responsible, and must forthwith be set free. The prin- 
ciple of Vattel rightly understood, absolutely secures the terri- 
torial sovereignty of nations in time of peace by permitting 
them to punish all invasions of it in their own criminal coiu-ts, 
and his doctrine is eminently calculated to preserve peace 
among all nations. War has its own laws, which are never to 
be extended to the intercourse between nations at peace. 



340 LIFE AND SEPwVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

" The principle assumed in Mr. Fox's letter is well calcul&,tcd 
for the benefit of powerful nations against their weaker neigh- 
bors. (But in saying this I do no not mean to admit that we 
are a weak nation in comparison with England. We do not, 
indeed, wish to go to war with her, yet I am confident in the 
belief that whatever we might suffer during the early period of 
such a contest would be amply compensated by our success be- 
fore we reached the end of it.) But let me present an ex- 
ample : 

" Let us suppose that the empire of Russia has by her side 
a conterminous nation, which is comparatively weak. A Russian 
colonel, during the season of profound peace, passes over the 
boundary, and commits some criminal act against the citizens 
of the weaker nation. They succeed, however, in seizing his 
person, and are about to punish him according to the provisions 
of their own laws. But immediately the Russian double-headed 
black eagle makes its appearance, a Russian officer says to the 
authorities of the weaker nation, ' stop, take off your hands ; 
you shall not vindicate your laws and sovereignty. We assume 
this man's crune as a national act.' What is the consequence ? 
The rule for which Britain contends will in this case compel the 
mjured nation, though the weaker, to declare war in the first 
instance against her stronger neighbor. But she will not do it ; 
she will not become the actor, from the consciousness of her 
weakness and the instinct of self-preservation. This principle, if 
established, will enable the stroug to insult the weak with im- 
punity. But take the principle as laid down by Vattel. The 
weaker nation defends the majesty of her own laws by punish- 
ing the Russian subject who had violated them ; and, if war is 
to ensue, Rus^a must assume the responsibility of declaring it, in 
the face of the world, and in an unjust cause, against the nation 
whom she has injured. It is said that one great purpose of 
the laws of nations is to protect the weak against the strong, 
and never was this tendency more happily illustrated than 
by this very principle of Vattel for which I am contending. 



SPEECH ON TUE ilC LV* U CASE. Or4l 

" I, therefore, believe that the Secretary of State was as fai 
wrong iu his view of international law as in his haste to ap- 
l)ease the British government, in the face of a direct threat, 
by his instructions to Mr. Crittenden. The communication of 
these instructions to that government, we know, had the de- 
sired efiTect. They went out immediately to England, and no 
sooner were they known on that side of the water than in a 
moment all was calm and tranquil. The storm portending war 
passed away, and tranquil peace once more returned and smiled 
over the scene. Sir, the British government must have been 
hard-hearted, indeed, if a perusal of these instruct^s did not 
soften them, and afford them the most ample satisfaction. This 
amiable temper will never even be ruffled in the shghtest 
degree by the perusal of Mr. Webster's letter to Mr. Fox, 
written six weeks afterwards. The matter had all been virtu- 
ally ended before its date. 

" In the views I have now expressed I may be wrong ; but 
as an American senator, without any feeling on my part, but 
such as I think every American senator ought to cherish, I am 
constrained to say, that I cannot approve of the course 
pursued by the Secretary of State in this matter ; while at the 
same time, I hope and trust that no other occasion may arise 
to demand from me a smiilar criticism on the official conduct 
of that gentleman. " 

The difficulty between our government and England on th.w 
question, which threatened a rupture between the two countries, 
was happily terminated in the acquittal of MacLeod, by the 
court at Lockport before which he was tried. This excited 
and important session of Congress closed on the 13th of Sep- 
tember, 1841. 



S42 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Second Session of the Twenty-seventh Confrress — The Veto Power — Mr. Buchanan's 
Speech in Reply to Mr. Clay— The Board of Exchequer — Mr. Buclianan's Speech— Mr. 
Clay's Retirement from the Senate — Third Session of the Twenty-seventh Congress- - 
The Webster ^eaty. 

Not three months elapsed after the adjournment of the extra 
session of Congress, before the first regular session of the 
twenty-seventh Congress convened, on the 6th of December, 
1841. Mr. Clay introduced some resolutions to restrict the 
veto power. Mr. Buchanan did not agree with Mr. C. 
that the presidential prerogative of a veto upon bills passed 
by Congress, was a dangerous power granted to the execu- 
tive. On the contrary, he believed that the provision in the 
Constitution, making it the duty of the President to return all 
bills he did not approve to Congress with his objections, was a 
safeguard against hasty and inconsiderate legislation, and that 
the wise framers of our organic law had inserted it from the 
most patriotic considerations of the public good. On the 2d 
of February, 1842, Mr. Buchanan made an elaborate reply to 
Mr. Clay upon his proposition, reviewing our whole system of 
government, and showing the relations that existed between its 
parts. This logical and profound speech embraces valuable 
principles of political economy, and shows with what attention 
Mr. Buchanan has studied the fundamental laws and maxims 
of civil government. After showing that the veto power bore 
no analogy to tyrannical or despotic power, he said : 

" This system of self-imposed restraints is a necessary element 



THE VETO POWER. 343 

-if our social condition. Every wise and virtuous man adopts 
the resolutions by vvhicli he regulates his conduct, for the pur- 
\<ose of counteracting the evil propensities of his nature, and 
1 preventing him from yielding under the impulses of sudden and 
strong temptation. Is such a man tlie less free, the less inde- 
}icadent because he choses to submit to these self-imposed re- 
straints ? In like manner, is the majority of the people less 
free and less independent because it has chosen to impose con- 
stitutional restrictions upon itself and its representatives ? Is 
this any abridgement of popular Uberty ? The true philoso- 
phy of republican government, as the history of the world has 
demonstrated, consists in the establishment of such counteract- 
ing powers — powers always created by the people themselves — as 
shall render it morally certain that no law can be passed by 
their servants which shall not be in accordance with their will, 
and calculated to promote their good. 

" It is for this reason that a Senate has been established ia 
every State of the Union to control the House of Representa- 
tives ; and I presume there is now scarcely an individual in the 
country who is not convinced of its necessity. Fifty years ago, 
opinions were much divided upon this subject, and nothing but 
experience has settled the question. In France, the National 
Assembly, although they retained the king, rejected a senate as 
aristocratic, and our own Franklin was opposed to it. He 
thought that the popular branch was alone necessary to reflect 
the will of the people, and that a senate would be but a mere 
encumbrance. His influence prevailed in the convention which 
formed the first Constitution for Pennsylvania, and we had no 
senate. The doctor's argument against it was contained in one 
of his homely but striking illustrations : 'Why,' said he, 'will 
you place a horse in front of a cart to draw it forward, and 
another behind to pull it back V Experience, which is the 
wisest teacher, has demonstrated the fallacy of this and all other 
similar arguments ; and public opinion is now unanimous on 



&4:4: LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

the subject. Where is the man who does not now feel that 
the control of a senate is necessary to restrain and modify the 
action of the popular branch ? 

" All the beauty and harmony and order of the universe 
arise from counteracting influences. When its great author, 
in the beginning, gave the planets their projective ' impulse, 
they would have rushed in a straight line through the realms 
of boundless space, had he not restrained them within their 
prescribed orbits by the counteracting influence of gravitation. 
All the valuable inventions in mechanics consist in blending 
simple powers together so as to restrain and regulate the ac- 
tion of each other. Restraint — restraint — not that imposed by 
arbitrary and irresponsible power, but by the people them- 
selves, in their own written constitutions, is the great law which 
has rendered democratic representative government so success- 
ful in these latter times. The best security which the people 
can have against abuses of trust by their public servants, is to 
ordain that it shall be the duty of one class of them to watch 
and restrain anotlier. Sir, this federal government, in its legis- 
lative attributes, is nothing but a system of restraints from be- 
ginning to end. In order to enact any bill into a law, it must 
be passed by the representatives of the people in the House, and 
also by tlie representatives of the sovereign States in the Se- 
nate, where, as I have observed before, it may be defeated by 
senators from States containing but one-fourth of the popula- 
tion of the country. After it has undergone these two ordeals, 
it must yet be subjected to that of the executive, as the tribune 
of the whole people, for his approbation. If he should exer- 
cise his veto power, it cannot become a law unless it be passed 
by a majority of two-thirds of both houses. These are the 
mutual restraints which the people have imposed on their public 
servants, to preserve then- own rights and those of the States 
from rash, hasty and impolitic legislation. No treaty with a 
foreign power can be binding upon the people of this country 



SPEECH OX THE VETO POWEK. 345 

unless it shall receive the asseut of the President and two-thirda 
of the Senate, and this is the restraint which the people have 
imposed on the treaty making power." 

After referring to instances where the rights of the States 
might be broken down if the veto power were abolished, he con- 
tinued : 

" But let me suppose another case of a much more dangerous 
character. In the southern States, which compose the weaker 
portion of the Union, a species of property exists which is now 
attracting the attention of the whole civilized world. These 
States never would have become parties to the Union, had not 
their rights in this property been secured by the federal Consti- 
tution. Foreign and domestic fanatics — some from the belief 
that they are doing God's service, and others from a desire to 
divide and destroy this glorious Republic — have conspired to 
emancipate the southern slaves. On this question, the people 
of the South, beyond the limits of their own States, stand 
alone and unsupported by any power on earth, except that of 
the northern democracy. These fanatical philanthropists are 
now conducting a crusade over the whole world, and are en- 
deavoring to concentrate the public opinion of all mankind 
against the right of property. Suppose they should ever in- 
fluence a majority in both Houses of Congress to pass a law, 
not to abolish this property — for that would be too palpable a 
violation of the Constitution — but to render it of no value, 
under the letter, but against the spirit, of some of the powers 
granted ; will any lover of his country say that the President 
ought not to possess the power of arresting such an act by his 
veto, until the solemn decision of the people should be known 
on this question, involving the life or death of the Uniou ? We, 
sir, of the non-slaveholding States, entered the Union upon the 
express condition that this property should be protected. What-- 
ever may be our own private opinions in regard to slavery in 

15* 



346 LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAilES BUCHAifAJT. 

the abstract, ought we to hazard all the blessings of our free 
institutions — our Union and our strength — in such a crusade 
against our brethren of the South ? Ought we to jeopard 
every political right we hold dear for the sake of enabling 
these fanatics to invade southern rights, and render that fair 
portion of our common inheritance a scene of servile war, ra- 
pine and murder ? Shall we apply the torch to the magnificent 
temple of human liberty which our forefathers reared at the 
price of their blood and treasure, and permit all we hold dear 
to perish in the conflagration ? I trust not. 

" It is possible, that at some future day, the majority in 
Congress may attempt, by indirect means, to emancipate the 
slaves of the South. There is no knowing through what chan- 
nel the ever-active spirit of fanaticism may seek to accomplish 
its object. The attempt may be made through the taxing 
power, or some other express power granted by the Constitu- 
tion. God only knows how it may be made. It is hard to say 
what means fanaticism may not adopt to accomplish its pur- 
pose. Do we feel so secure, in this hour of peril from abroad 
and peril at home, as to be willing to prostrate any of the 
barriers which the Constitution has reared against hasty and 
dangerous legislation ? No, sir, never was the value of the 
veto power more manifest than at the present moment. For 
the weaker portion of the Union, whose constitutional rights 
are now assailed with such violence, to think of abandoning 
this safeguard, would be almost suicidal. It is my solemn 
conviction, that there never was a wiser or more beautiful 
adaptation of theory to practice in any government than that 
which requires a majority of two-thirds in both houses of Con- 
gress to pass an act returned by the President with his objections, 
under all the high responsibilities which he owes to his country. 

" Sir, ours is a glorious Constitution. Let us venerate it ; 
let us stand by it as the work of great and good men, unsur- 
passed in the history of any age or nation. Let us not assail 
it rashly with our invading hands, but honor it as the fountain 



SPEECH ON THE VETO POWER. 347 

of our prosperity and power. Let us protect it as the only 
system of government which could have rendered us what we 
are in half a century, and enable us to take the front rank 
among the nations of the earth. In my opinion, it is the only 
form of government which can preserve the blessings of liberty 
and prosperity to the people, and at the same time secure the 
rights and sovereignty of the States. Sir, the great mass of 
the people are unwilling that it shall be changed, although the 
senator from Kentucky, to whom I cannot, and will not, altrib- 
ute any but patriotic motives, has brought himself to believe 
that a change is necessary, especially in the veto power, I 
must diflor from him entirely, convinced that his opinions on 
this subject are based upon fallacious theories of the nature of 
our institutions. This view of his opinions is strengthened by 
his declarations the other day as to the illimitable rights 
of the majority in Congress. On that point, he differs essen- 
tially from the framers of the Constitution. They believed 
that the people of the different States had rights which might 
be violated by such a majority, and the veto power was one 
of the modes which they devised for preventing these rights 
from being invaded." 

Mr. Buchanan then noticed the argument of Mr. Clay, that 
the veto power gave the President undue inGuence over Con- 
gress, and by that means brought many supporters to his 
administration. Mr. Buchanan answered this objection, by 
asking how many friends Mr. Tyler had obtained by his vetoes, 
and how much power he had secured l)y the entire patronage 
of the administration. lie closed h's speech showing how 
trifling was the danger of the abuse of the veto power, com- 
pared with the evils certain to follow its abolishment, and 
expressed his hope that it might be perpetual. This important 
feature of our Constitution certainly never had a more powerful 
defence than Mr. Buchanan gave it, and it will, probably, be a 
long time before it will require another vindication. 



3/S LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

ifter the disastrous failures of the " Fiscal Bank" and thu 
" x'i'iscal Corporation," Mr. Tyler himself recommended a scheme 
for managing the financial business of the government, to be 
called " A Board of Exchequer." The plan was somewhat differ- 
ent from that of a National Bank, but it embraced the principle 
which the democracy had always contended against, that of 
using the people's money as capital upon which to make bank 
issues by the government, and, of course, it met with their deter- 
mined hostility. Indeed, it seemed to be forsaken by all. It 
never was even called up for consideration in the House. In 
the Senate it was referred to the Committee of Finance, where 
it duly expired. Mr. Buchanan, however, made a speech upon 
it on a motion to refer the subject to a select committee. Many 
of the arguments are so similar to those which he used in former 
bills of the same kind, most of which we have already 
given, that it is unnecessary to repeat them. 

During this session Mr. Clay presented his resignation, and 
retired from Congress. He delivered a valedictory of much feel- 
ing and great eloquence, and sought in the shades of private 
life that retirement, which he had so long desired. A 
combination of circumstances had defeated all his leading 
measures, and he had been taunted with trying to be a 
dictator, because of the energy and perseverance he had exhibi- 
ted in endeavoring to carry them out. " That my nature is 
warm," said Mr. Clay, "my temper ardent, my disposition in 
the public service enthusiastic, I am ready to own. But those 
who suppose they have seen any proof of dictation in my con- 
duct, have only mistaken that ardor for what I at least supposed 
to be patriotic exertions for fulfilling the wishes by which I 
hold this seat : they having mistaken the one for the other." 
Mr. Clay had, however, at least one consolation : if Mr. Tyler 
obtained the power of the government, he retained the affec- 
tions of the great whig party, and died in its embrace ! No 
one at this day will be likely to accuse Mr. Clay of dictation. 
The charge was the result of temporary party asperities, and 



TUE "WEDSTER TliEATT. 319 

never received any support from Mr. Buclianan, who dwaya 
regarded Mr. Clay as a man of the most earnest and sincere 
patriotism. If he made mistakes upon some public questions, 
it was but what all men in this falhble world are liable to do. 
At all events, his heart was always for his country, and upon 
questions now at issue he assumed a stand that placed himself 
and Mr. Buchanan on the same platform, nobly battling 
against sectional strife and disunion. 

Mr. Buchanan was uncommonly active at this session in his 
participation in public questions, yet we are only enabled to 
refer to his most prominent speeches. The reader may judge 
of the attention he gave to the public service, by the fact that 
he voted or addressed the Senate more than one hundred and 
seventy different times. It was a long, arduous and trying ses- 
sion, of nearly nine months' duration. 

The third and last session of the twenty-seventh Congress 
convened on the 5th of December, 1842. There were no bills 
of great national importance brought before it, but an interest- 
ing debate is incorporated in the proceedings of this Congress, 
which took place in executive session before the adjournment 
on the 30th of August previous, upon the British treaty negoti- 
ated by Mr. Webster and Lord Ashburton, in settlement of our 
Northeast boundary line. It was believed by many persons, 
and is still so regarded by some, that Mr. Webster made too 
great concessions to the demands of England in the settlement 
of that question. Indeed if any person will look at a map upon 
which is marked the boundary as designated by the treaty of 
1783, and that settled upon by the Webster treaty, he will 
be struck with the valuable advantages England has derived 
from the latter. She now has the unobstructed right of the 
valley of the St. John's River, and a military road directly 
through it from the province of New Brunswick to Quebec. It 
may be said that the territory is mostly sterile and not worth 
contending for, but if it really belonged to us our rights aro 
never so valueless as to be given up upon demand, no matter 



350 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

of how little importance in an intrinsic poiut of view tliey may 
be. Mr Buchanan made a long and vrell considered speech 
upon tlie treaty, taking grounds against its ratification in the 
form in which it was presented to the Senate. 

Amongst the objections which he urged against the treaty, 
was that it did not settle other matters of dispute then 
existing between England and our government, indeed, the 
absence of a firm declaration of our rights, Mr. Buchanan con 
tended would embarrass future negotiations, and particularly 
any that might become necessary for the settlement of our 
north-west boundary. The twenty-seventh Congress expired 
by constitutional limitation, on the 3d of March, 1843, after 
three exciting, important, but to the party that had rolled on a 
whirlwind into power, very unsatisfactory sessions. 



TEKRITX)ilIAL GOVERNAIENT IN OKEGON". 351 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Twenty-Eighth Congress— Territorial Government in Oregon— Annexation of Texas 
—Election of Jaoies K. Polk. 

The twcnty-eiglith Congress, the last under Mr. Tyler's ad- 
ministration, convened at its first session on the 4th of Decem- 
ber, 1843. The most important subjects of discussion were the 
orsrauization of a territorial government for Oregon, and the 
annexation of Texas. Mr. Buchanan took an early and decided 
stand in favor of extending to the far-off settlements on the 
Pacific, all the advantages which our laws could furnish. 

In his speech on this subject, he takes the following prophetic 
and brilliant survey of the destmy of this country : 

The senator from New Jersey (Mr. Jililler) believes that a 
hundred years must roll around before the valley of the Mississ- 
ip})i will have a population equal in density to that of some of 
the older States of the Union ; and for fifty years, at least, our 
people should not pass beyond their present limits. And in 
this connection he has introduced the Texas question. In re- 
gard to that question, all I have now to say is, 'that sufficient 
unto the day is the evil thereof.' I have no opinion to express 
at this time on the subject. But this I believe : Providence 
has given to the American people a great and glorious mission 
to perform, even that of extending the blessings of Christianity 
and civil and religious liberty over the whole North American 
continent. Within less than fifty years from this moment, there 
will exist one hundred millions of free Americans between the 
Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. This will be a glorious specta- 



852 LIFE AND SEKVICE8 OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

cle to behold ; the distant contemplation of it warms and ex- 
pands the bosom. The honorable senator seems to suppose 
that it is impossible to love our country with the same ardor 
when its limits are so widely extended. I cannot agree with 
him in this opinion. I believe an American citizen will, if pos- 
sible, more ardently love his country, and be more proud of its 
power and glory, when it shall be stretched out from sea to sea, 
than when it was confined to a narrow strip between the Atlantic 
and the Alleghanies. The Almighty has implanted in the very 
nature of our people that spirit of progress, and that desire to 
roam abroad, and seek new homes, and new fields of enterprise, 
which characterises them above all other nations, ancient or 
modern, which have ever existed. This spirit cannot be repress- 
ed. It is idle to talk of it. You might as well attempt to 
arrest the stars in their courses through heaven. The same 
Divine power has given impulse to both. What, sir 1 prevent 
the American people from crossing the liocky Mountaius. You 
might as well command Niagara not to flow. We mv^st fulfill 
our destiny. The question presented by the senator fiom New 
Jersey is, whether we shall vainly attempt to interpose obsta- 
cles to our own progress, and passively yield up the ex'crcise of 
our rights beyond the mountains, on the consideration that it is 
Impolitic for us ever to colonize Oregon. To such a question 
I shall give no answer. But, says he, it would be expensive to 
the 'treasury to extend to Oregon a territorial government. No 
matter what may be the expense, the thing will eventually be 
done ; and it cannot be prevented, though it may be delajed 
for a season." 

Mr. Buchanan was one of the earliest, most consistent, and 
fteady advocates of the annexation of Texas, and in Lis 
speech defending the policy of this act, he took a survey of 
the varied interests upon which it would have an influeu'ie, 
which probably does more to give his mind the stamp of en- 
larged statesmanship, than any other speech he ever delivered. 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 353 

If anything were wanting to show that his remarks exhibited 
that protbund knowledge of human affairs which enables great 
minds to grasp the future with all the couGdence of reality, it 
is that time has affixed the seal of confirmation to their correct- 
ness. In opening his speech upon this important subject, he 
said : 

" Mr. President : The present is a question of transcendent 
importance. For weal or for woe — for good or for evil, it is 
more momentous than any question which has been before the 
Senate since my connection with public affairs. To confine the 
consequences of our decision to the present generation would 
be to take a narrow and contracted view of the subject. The 
life of a great nation is not to be numbered by the few and 
fleeting years which limit the period of man's existence. The 
life of such a nation must be counted by centuries and not by 
years ! ' Nations unborn and ages yet behind ' will be deeply 
affected in their moral, political, and social relations, by the 
final determination of this question. Shall Texas become a 
part of our glorious confederacy ; shall she be bone of our 
bone and flesh of our flesh ; or shall she become our dangerous 
and hostile rival ? Shall our future history and that of hers 
diverge more and more from the present point, and exhibit 
those mutual jealousies and wars, which, according to the 
history of the world, have ever been the misfortune of neigh- 
boring and rival nations ; or shall their history be blended 
together in peace and harmony ? These are the alternatives 
between which we must decide. I do not mean, by these 
remarks, merely to refer to the vote of the Senate, which will 
be recorded to-day upon the treaty ; but to that ultimate and 
final decision of the question, which must be made within a 
brief period." ***** 

Mr. Buchanan went fully into all the questions bearing on the 
policy of annexation. lie observed that Texas would bo an 



851 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

important security and advantage to our south western frontier; 
that England would be enabled to make with her commercial 
treaties which would injure the general welfare of the Union, 
while her annexation to us would greatly increase our internal 
commerce, extend the market for car domestic manufactures, 
and preserve to the United States o-jlS of the finest cotton- 
growing countries of the earth. 

" Whilst the annexation of Texas," said Mr. Buchanan, 
" would afford that security to the southern and southwestern 
slave States, which they have a right to demand, it would, in 
some respects, operate prejudicially upon their immediate pecu- 
niary interests ; but to the middle and western, and more espe- 
cially to the New England States, it would, in my opinion, be 
a source of unmLxed prosperity. It would extend their com- 
merce, promote their manufactures, and increase their wealth. 
The New England States resisted, with all their power, the 
acquisition of Louisiana ; and I ask what would those States 
have been at this day without that territory ? They will also 
resist the annexation of Texas with similar energy ; although, 
after it has been acquired, it is they who will reap the chief 
pecuniary advantages from the acquisition." 

Mr. Buchanan closed his speech by urging immediate action, 
and stated that had Mr. Jefferson delayed one month in his 
acquisition of Louisiana, that valuable and fertile territory 
would not have been obtained probably without an expensive 
and bloody war. The annexation was now before the Senate 
in the form of a treaty, and not receiving the constitutional 
majority, it failed of being ratified. The final result, however, 
was not changed, in fact postponed for only a few months. 
The present session adjourned on the ITth of June, 1844, and 
the next one convened on the 2d of December following. Theq 
the annexation of Texas came up in the form of a joint resolut 
tion. The election of James K. Polk had been accomplished j 



AKNEXATION OF TEXAS. 600 

.'lie auncxatioa of Texas had been an issue before the people, and 
fiiTorably received, and the democracy were again coming into 
power. All these things combining rendered the annexation of 
Texas a certainty. The present Congress, therefore, made a 
virtue of necessity, and just before Mr. Tyler retired from office, 
received Texas into the American Union upon a joint resolu- 
tion. It may be remarlvcd tliat ^[r. liuchanan was the only 
member of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate 
to whom the subject was referred, who reported favorably upon 
the admission. The vote upon the annexation of Texas com- 
pleted Mr. Buchanan's senatorial career, and it will ever be an 
lionor to him, that he crowned his ten years of devotion to the 
interests of his country in the highest branch of its legislative 
body, by an act so important and valuable in its results. 



356 LIFE AKD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Mr. Buchanan as Secretary of State — The War with Mexico — The Oregon Boundary 
Negotiation— Treaty with Mexico — The Acquisition of California — The Irish Revolu- 
tion of 1848 — Mr. Buchanan's Denial of British Demands. 

Thj campaign of 1844, placed James K. Polk in the presi- 
dential chair. The annexation of Texas had been disposed of. 
but there were other questions of great importance still unde- 
cided, which if not managed with decision and energy, might 
involve a sacrifice of our rights. Our relations with Great 
Britain and Mexico were in a very unsettled state, and Mr. 
Polk, justly considering that he needed a statesman of tried 
ability and of unflinching patriotism to fill the important post, 
the head of the State Department, and considering also the 
respect due to the eminent man who had been the hero in so 
many a hard fought democratic battle, then in retirement at 
the Hermitage, felt it his duty to consult him in regard to the 
disposition of the portfolio of his chief cabinet appointment. 
It was an honor, therefore, to Mr. Buchanan, but one of 
which he was justly deserving, that that man of profound 
sagacity and of pure patriotism designated hun as the proper 
person to occupy this responsible position. Mr. Buchanan 
being thus invited to accept the chair of the Secretary of 
State in Mr. Polk's cabinet, resigned his position as senator 
from Pennsylvania, a place he had for ten years filled with 
so much honor to himself and so much acceptance to his 
constituents, and entered upon the duties of his new ofBce. 

It would be quite unpossible in the limits of this volume to 



THE OKEGON BOUNDARY NEGOTIATION. 357 

give anything like a detail of the various and important papers 
which it became his duty to prepare while connected with the 
State department. It might be almost enough to say that he 
occupied the chief position in that cabinet which conducted the 
brilliant campaign in Mexico, and which first planted the stars 
and stripes in California. A brief resume, however, of Mr. 
Buchanan's acts while Secretary of State, will be necessary, in 
order to show how much the country is indebted to him for the 
valuable acquisitions of a new territory which has in feet almost 
changed the face of modern society. The gold of California has 
been to this era what the mines of Mexico and Peru were to 
Europe when Spain, by the brilliancy of her achievements, was 
the leading nation of the world in all those daring and adven- 
turous enterprises which for so many years linked the name of 
Castilian with all that was enthusiastic and bold. Had not the 
foresight of such statesmen seen beyond the lunits of the pre- 
sent hour, California might have fallen into the hands of Eng- 
land, and the glorious future which will enable us eventually to 
clasp the trade both of the East and the West Indies as oui's, 
would have been obscured, perhaps forever. 

The first negotiation which demanded the attention erf Mr. 
Buchanan after he assumed the duties of his office, was the set- 
tlement of our northwestern, or Oregon boundary. Mr. B. had 
long held the firm opinion that our title to that territory was 
clear and indisputable up to the parallel of 5-4° 40 minntes. 
Upon commencing the duties of his office, however, he found 
several embarrassments in his way which were not easily obvi- 
ated. It will be recollected that he took strong groixnd against 
the ratification of Mr. Webster's treaty with Lord Ashburtou 
in 1842, and one of the reasons he then gave for his course was, 
that the adoption of the treaty would embarrass negotiations in 
regard to the Oregon boundary. Little did he think at the 
time that upon his shoulders would fall this embarrassment. 
There was still another difficulty which the administration of 
Mr. Polk experienced. The negotiations had been commenced 



35S LIFE AXD SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAIT. 

ander Mr. Tyler, who had oifered to settle the line on the 
parallel of 49° north latitude, and this offer could not be with- 
drawn abruptly ; indeed courtesy demanded that the new 
administration should renew it. After reviewing our title to 
Oregon, in his first protocol to Mr. Pakeuham, the British 
minister, Mr. Buchanan says : 

" In view of these facts, the President has determined to 
pursue the present negotiation to its conclusion upon the prin- 
ciple of compromise in which it was commenced, and to make 
one more effort to adjust this long pending controversy. In 
this determination, he trusts that the British government will 
recognize his sincere and anxious desire to cultivate the mo^it 
friendly relations between the two countries, and to manifest to 
the world that he is actuated by a spirit of moderation. He 
has therefore instructed the undersigned again to propose to the 
government of Great Britain that the Oregon territory shall be 
divided between the two countries by the forty-ninth parallel 
of north latitude from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific 
Ocean ; offering at the same time to make free to Great Britain 
any port or ports on Vancouver's Island which the British gov- 
ernment may desu-e. lie trusts that Great Britain may receive 
this proposition in the friendly spirit by which it was dictated, 
and that it may prove the stable foundation of lasting peace 
and harmony between the two countries." 

The protocol from which this extract is taken was dated July 
12th, 1845. It went over the grounds in dispute, briefly re- 
capitulating the main points of the controversy. Mr. Pakeu- 
ham replied to it on the 29th of the same month, declining in 
a somewhat hasty manner the offer. Mr. Buchanan did not 
reply until the 30th of August ; but when he did, it was in a 
letter of great historical accuracy, carefully and even techni- 
cally elaborated, and with such a firm and decided spirit ani- 
mating it from beginning to end, that the British government 
were convinced that it would not do to trifle further with Mr. 



THE OREGON BOUNDARY NEGOTIATION. 359 

i'olk's administration. In closing tliis long, able, and orgu- 
tuentative historical paper, Mr. liucbauau says : 

" Snch a proposition as that which has been made never 
would have been authorized by the President had this been a 
new question. Before his accession to office he found the pre- 
sent negotiation pending. It had been instituted in the prin- 
ciple and with the spii-it of compromise. Its object, as avowed 
by the negotiators, was not to demand the whole territory in dis- 
pute for either country, but in the language of the first protocol, 
' to treat of the respective claims of the two countries to 
Oregon territory, with a view to establish a permanent boun- 
dary between them westward of the Rocky Mountains to the 
Pacilic Ocean.' Placed in this position, and considering that 
Presidents Monroe and Adams had on former occasions ofifcred 
to divide the territory in dispute, by the forty-ninth parallel of 
latitude, he felt it to be his duty not abruptly to arrest the 
negotiation, but so far to yield his own opinion as once more to 
make a shnilar offer. Not only respect for the conduct of his 
predecessors, but a sincere and an.xious desire to promote peace 
and harmony between the two countries, influenced him to pur- 
sue this course. The Oregon question presents the only inter- 
vening cloud which intercepts the prospect of a long career of 
mutual friendship and beneficial commerce between the two 
nations, and this cloud he desires to remove. 

"These are the reasons which actuated the President to 
offer a proposition so liberal to Great Britain. And how has 
this proposition been received by the British plenipotentiary ? 
It has been rejected without even a reference to his own gov- 
ernment. Nay, even more. The British plenipotentiary, to 
use his own language, ' truststhat the American plenipotentiary 
will be prepared to offer some other proposal for the settle- 
ment of the Oregon question, more consistent with fairness 
and equity, and with the reasonable expectations of the British 
govermnent. Under such circumstances, the undersigned is in 



360 LIFE A^'D SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

structed by the President to say, that he owes it to liis country 
and a just appreciation of her title to the Oregon territory, to 
withdraw the proposition to the British government wliich had 
been made under his direction ; and it is hereby accordingly 
withdrawn.' In taking this necessary step, the President still 
cherishes the hope that this long pending controversy may yet 
be finally adjusted in such a manner as not to disturb the peace 
or interrupt the harmony now so happily subsisting between 
the two nations." 

This decidedly spirited and even indignant reception of Mr. 
Pakenham's note convinced the British government that the 
United States were determined to maintain their rights, and 
not long after it came forward itself with the proposal to settle 
the boundary as Mr. Polk had at first offered. This it declared 
to be its ultimatum. Here was a dilemma. For the Presi- 
dent not to accept a proposition which he once offered him- 
self, would seem like going to war merely on a point of eti- 
quette, yet to accept it would not be in accordance with his 
own views or those of his cabinet. The Senate, however, was 
in session, and as this is a part of the treaty makmg power 
of our government, Mr. Polk wisely resolved to submit the 
^rojet of the treaty to that body, and take its advice on the 
subject. The offer of Great Britain was therefore sent to the 
Senate, where, after due deliberation, a resolution was passed, 
advismg Mr. Polk to accept the proposition. Thus, at length 
ended the famous Oregon controversy, which had been suddenly 
terminated doubtless solely by the decided stand which Mr, 
Buchanan had taken in asserting our rights and in rejecting at 
the very outset anything like trifling in the negotiation. 

The management of the negotiation connected with the 
Mexican war, was, however, the most intricate in its details, as 
it was the most important in its results of any that came be- 
fore Mr. Buchanan while a member of Mr. Polk's cabinet. The 
forbearance we had exercised towards Mexico had been con- 



TKEATY Wirri MEXICO. 361 

strucd by that power into pusillanimity, pcrha]is, even cowardice. 
Like a degenerated family, vanity had usurped the place of the 
courage and bravery of its ancestors, and it had the hardihood 
even to attack Americans upon American soil. It is needless to 
say that the descendants of a Washington and a Hancock 
never so nobly vindicated their patriotism and bravery. Con- 
gress authorized the acceptance of a volunteer force of ten 
thousand men, and no less than fifty thousand offered their ser- 
vices. The delicacy in selecting from the number eager to 
enroll themselves in defence of the rights of their country was 
exceedingly embarrassing, and it is doubtful whether some 
slight feeling may not exist even yet among the rejected against 
Mr. Buchanan and other members of Mv. Polk's cabinet, be- 
cause they were compelled to deny them the privilege of engag- 
ing in the fight ! 

Constant negotiations, however, were kept up with Mexico, 
and repeated offers made to bring the diCBculties to a termina- 
tion, but she would not submit until her people saw the stars 
and stripes waving from the halls of the Montezumas. During 
the whole of the protracted and tedious negotiation, which 
finally resulted in a peace both honorable and advantageous to 
our country, Mr. Buchanan displayed a degree of consummate 
statesmanship which demonstrated his appreciation of the 
wants and interests of his nation. In his letter of iustructioa 
to Hon, John Slidell, minister to Mexico, he said : 

" The nations of the continent of America have interests 
peculiar to themselves. Their free forms of government are 
altogether different from the monarchical institutions of Europe. 
The interest and independence of these sister nations require that 
they should establish and maintain an American system of 
policy for t^?ir own protection and security, entirely distinct 
from that which has so long prevailed in Europe. To tolerate 
any interference on the part of European sovereigns with con- 
troversies in America ; to permit them to apply the worn out 
dogma of the balance of power to the free States on this coa- 

16 



362 LIFE A^T) SERVICK8 OF JAMES BUCIIAXAN. 

tinent ; and above all, to suffer them to establish new colonies 
of their own, intermingled with our free republics, would be to 
make to the same extent a voluntary sacrifice of our independ- 
ence. These truths ought everywhere throughout the continent 
of America to be pressed upon the public mind. If therefore in 
the course of your negotiations with Mexico that government 
should propose the mediation or guarantee of any European 
power, you are to reject the proposition without hesitation. 
The United States will never afford, by their Couduct, the 
slightest pretext for any interference in that quarter in American 
concerns. Separated as we are from the Old VvVrld by a vast 
ocean, and still further removed from it by the nature of our 
republican institutions, the march of free govei'nments on this 
continent must not be trammelled by the intrigues and selfish 
interests of European powers. Liberty here must be allowed 
to work out its natural results ; and these, ere long, will asto- 
nish the world. Neither is it for the interests of those powers 
to plant colonies on this continent. No settlement of the kind 
can exist long. The expansive energy of our fiee institutions 
must soon spread over them. The colonists ihemselves will 
break from the mother country to become free and indepen- 
dent States. Any European nation which should plant a 
new colony on this continent, would thereby sow the seeds 
of troubles and uproars, the injury from which even to her 
own interests, would far outweigh all the advantages which 
she could possibly promise herself from any such estabhsh 
ment." 

It seems every true American and real lover of liberty 
and free institutions will instinctively respond to the noble 
sentiments contained in this extract. Mr. Buchanan-'s mind 
appears to grasp the entire destiny of this continent, and to 
see it in the distant future as the spot where mankind shall 
live in harmony with their created adaptations, and be " re- 
deemed, regenerated, and disenthralled " from the corruption, 



THE IRISfl REVOLUTION OF 1848. 303 

degradation, aud misery which royal tyrants have imposed upon 
them. 

Another important discussion which occurred during Mr. 
Buchanan's secretaryship was one with tlic British jrovernment 
in regard to American citizens said to have been engaged in the 
Irish revolution of 1848. Enghand claimed the right to try 
individuals for treason to her own government who were duly 
naturalized citizens of ours — in a word it was her old impress- 
ment doctrine of once a British subject always a British sul> 
ject. The controversy arose in the following manner. Two 
gentlemen, Messrs. Bergen aud Ryan, had expressed themselves 
in this country as warmly sympathizing with the cause of Ire- 
land, and while on a visit to that country were arrested solely 
for the utterance of their opinions in this country. It is almost 
needless to say that an act so high-handed and outrageous 
received from Mr. Buchanan the attention it deserved. In a letter 
of mstruction to ]\Ir. Bancroft then minister to England he says : 

" "Whenever the occasion may require it, you will resist the 
the British doctrine of perpetual allegiance and maintain the 
American principle that British native-born subjects, after they 
have been naturalized under our laws, are, to all intents and 
purposes, as much American citizens, and entitled to the same 
degree of protection, as though they had been born in the 
United States." 

Mr. Bancroft in accordance with these instructions addressed 
a letter to Lord Palmerston denying the right of the British 
government, under the circumstances, to arrest Messrs. Bergen 
and Ryan, and the effect of this decided action on the part of 
our government was the liberation of the two gentlemen from 
custody. 

At few periods of our history have there been so many or im- 
portant interests at stake both at home aud abroad as during 
the four years that 'Sir. Buchanan continued in Mr. Polk's 
cabinet. An empire was added to our own domain. The coun- 



S64 LIFE AI^D SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

try was safely and honorably conducted through the fiist for- 
eign war, of any importance, in which we had ever been inyolvcd. 
Our relations with England had been adjusted in a manner 
satisfactory to our citizens, and while the thrones of Europe had 
tottered to theu' very foundations, the basis of the only free 
government on earth had been strengthened, and its position 
made more honorable in the sight of the world. The light of 
our beneficent example had shed its rays over the Atlantic 
where, as silent as the light of Heaven in its influence, yet as 
powerful as a thunderbolt in its effect, it is yet destined to 
awake the slumbering energies of the people, and nerve them 
to inflict u.pon their oppressors the just vengeance with which 
a retributive Providence as surely punishes the sins of nations 
as of individuals. 

When Mr. Buchanan left the State department our country 
was at peace, both at home and abroad. Our territory had 
been enlarged, and our commerce extended. Not long after, 
untold riches were flowing into the country, prosperity was 
everywhere visible, our cities were growing with unexampled 
rapidity, the fertile prairies of the West were being intersected 
with railroads, and dotted with villages, and an impulse had 
been universally given to business, which no one can deny was 
directly owing to the statesmanlike foresight that had opened 
California to the adventurous spirit of American genius and 
enterprise. 



KEVIEW OF HIS SENATORIAL LITE. 365 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

Ten years in the Senate — A Review of Mr. Buchanan's Senatorial Life — His Position oa 
the Bank Question — As a Friend of Gen. Jaclvson — The true Test of Slatesmansliip— 
The Slavery Question — The Proscription of Foreigners — Mr. Buchanan's Four Years 
as Secretary of State. 

And bere it may be interesting to review briefly the career 
of Mr. Buchanan — a career, which, for consistency of principle 
or for devotion to the public interests, finds no superior in the 
whole range of American statesmen. He entered the Senate 
when Clay, Webster, Calhoun, and "Wright were the mighty 
intellects which swayed that body, and he immediately took 
rank q,mong them as a debater, whose blows, if not so brilliant 
in style, were even more effectual in execution. There is one 
feature of Mr. Buchanan's speeches which is very remarkable. 
It is the absence of all display, of all attempts to benefit his 
cause by any of those adventitious aids which o."atory furnishes. 
He never, even in argument or style, attempts the ad cajitan- 
dum vulgux, but with a firm reliance on the power of ])lain, 
outspoken truth, he appeals to the common sense rather than 
to the fancy or imagination. Even where almost every person 
might ])e excused for indulging in rhetorical metaphors, Mr. 
Buchanan adheres strictly to plain, yet graceful and elegant 
language. There is no sign of a desire to catch the breath of 
temporary applause, but firm, dignified, and impressive in ad- 
vancing his opinions, as he is resolute and energetic in main- 
taining them, he presents by his urbanity in debate, and purity 
of patriotism, the model of an American senator. 

When he entered the Senate in 1834, the great battle that 



366 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BCCnANAN. 

prostrated what would have vmdouljtedly grown into a 
moneyed aristocracy had been victoriously fought. The dis- 
cussion and settlement of the policy of the general government 
in regard to the currency question, is one of the most interest- 
ing and instructive in the whole history of our existence as a 
nation. It had to contend against precedents. Some of the very 
founders of our government had approved a National Bank, 
and it was difficult, and somethues almost impossible, to get 
before the people the circumstances and facts connected with 
such approval. The democracy were in favor of lettmg 
banks, Uke all other institutions, take care of themselves 
without assistance or alliance with the general government. 
They wished to keep the federal government nviiere it 
belonged ; confined to the few plainly delegated powers given 
It by the Constitution, and leave each State to manage all its 
inancial, business and domestic regulations, without being 
mder the influence of a central power, which might almost at 
any moment become a consolidated oligarchy. It is an agree- 
able reflection that their views have novv^ been so generally 
acquiesced in. 

And here we have the touchstone that has always divided 
political parties in this country. No matter what may be the 
particular question, be it banks, commerce, or negro slavery, 
this is the rock upon which they split. The democracy from 
the days of Jefferson, as fast as the different questions of public 
policy have been made issues before the people, have resolutely 
contended for a strict construction of the Constitution. From 
the day that Mr. Buchanan entered public life until the pre- 
sent, he has approved this policy ; at least, after a careful 
perusal of the congressional record we have not observed a 
single vote of his upon questions where the issue was involved 
antagonistic to this position. He has thus shown a devotion 
to correct principles which endears him to every friend of our 
system of government. 

And more : in every question before the Senate, he always 



■REVIEW OF HIS SENATORIAL LIFE. 367 

espoused the cause of bis country, as contradistinguished from 
that spirit of timidity which General Jackson used to dechire 
would always produce war. No man who understands Mr. 
Buchanan's character will suspect him of anything like bluster- 
ing or bravado. Nor would he appeal to the sword in the 
settlement of national disputes, except hi the direst emergency, 
and then it would be with the reluctance of a judge who is 
compelled to sentence a criminal to death in order to vindicate 
the law. Upon questions where our dearest rights, nay, even 
our existence as an independent nation is concerned, Mr. Bu- 
chanan has always shown that intrepid spirit, which distin- 
guishes every man worthy to bear the name of American. 
But in questions of etiquette, or where no important interest is 
involved, he has always exhibited that generosity and forbear- 
ance, which a great nation, justly proud of its strength and con- 
Ident of its resources, can afford to exercise. 

No one feature in his life or character is more decided than 
his respect and admiration for General Jackson. lie was 
among the first to observe the capacity of that distinguished 
man for the ofiSce of Chief Magistrate, and from the very start 
was his firm and unwavering friend. His speech upon the 
" Expunging Resolution " was a vindication of the charac- 
ter of that much maligned man, which will ever rank with 
the best delivered upon the floor of the United States 
Senate. In that effort there was something to awaken his 
feelings, indeed there was a pardonable degree of indignation 
in which he might be allowed to indulge. A great and patri- 
otic man had been assailed, without the means of defence 
being afforded him, and one, indeed, who, by his acts, had 
conferred, as he believed, great blessings upon his country. 

Upon all public questions Mr. Buchanan was awarded a 
leading part. We find him the senator chosen to present the 
Constitution for the admission of Arkansas, the chanipion of 
democracy in the debate with Mr. Clay upon the bank ques- 
ticm, and for several years the head of the most important 



368 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES EUCHAIJAN-. 

committee of the Senate, that on Foreign Relations. In all 
these positions he acquitted himself to the entire satisfaction of 
his friends. Upholding the doctrines of a correct public policy 
with an earnestness which showed his own sincerity, and with 
an ability which gave evidence of his capaUty even for higher 
and more important duties. Upon our relations with Mexico 
he early took a stand which was at last found necessary to be 
adopted in order to vindicate our rights. To him are we 
indebted for the negotiations that have added to our country the 
untold wealth of California, and indeed, this result could have 
been secured only by a man who could stretch his gaze beyond 
the narrow bounds of a petty statesmanship. Upon the question 
of the annexation of Texas, we see the same evidence of 
expanded views, and the same grasp of intellect which has ever 
rendered real statesmen even greater benefactors to posterity 
than to the periods in which they lived. But Mr. Buchanan 
needs no eulogy. His acts, after all, are the points upon which 
he must stand or fall. These are the rigid evidences which 
determine whether a man is a statesman or not. The reputa- 
tion that a person may acquire in life may be merely adventi- 
tious, and will pass away as a dream before the inexorable 
justice of history. The newspapers of the day may create a 
fame which will last for even years, but posterity will judge of 
men by the advantages they have conferred upon it, and by 
their ideas which hve and breathe as the sentiments of the 
people after they are gone. If therefore we may judge of 
the capacity of statesmen by the results, and, as it were, 
by the judgment of posterity, we submit that justice has 
not heretofore been done to Mr. Buchanan and those who 
acted with him in the great battle on the currency ques- 
tion. Nor would we disparage either Messrs. Clay or 
Webster. They were both men of that giant mould and 
undoubted patriotism which we may not soon expect to see 
again. They were noble leaders — a Cicero and Demosthenes — 
honorable in conflict, generous to a fault, and when at last 



KEVIEW OF HI3 SENATORIAL LIFE. 3C9 

defeated, none turned to tlicm with more heartfelt sympathy 
than the democracy, who honored their talents, respected their 
patriotism, admired their manly bearing, and only* regretted the 
misfortune that had compelled them to oppose where it would 
have been a pleasure to agree, and to condemn where it would 
have been a satisfaction to have admired. 

It is a singular coincidence that Mr. Buchanan should have 
been brought up before the people of the United States for 
their suffrages at the very time when the two most prominent 
features of his public Hfe are just now the exciting questions in 
issue. It seems as if he had been reserved for the occasion. 
We are confident no man has ever opposed with more deter- 
mination the spirit that would proscribe persons on account 
of their birth-place or religion, or that unfortunate and 
deplorable delusion which has arrayed so many under the 
banner of sectionalism, than Mr. Buchanan. We have shown 
by his speeches how early and how earnest were his pro- 
tests against both of these sentiments. He took his stand 
upon the great doctrine of equal rights, and nobly declared, 
when speaking in reference to the slavery agitation, " I do not 
wish to sustain myself at home unless I can do it by granting 
to the South her constitutional rights." He had too much 
patriotism to desire to make capital out of a feeling which 
he knew would injure and perhaps destroy his country. Every 
inducement that ambition might hold out as a temptation to him 
was disregarded, and he resolved, as did Clay and Webster, 
that if overwhelmed by the cloud that was gathermg in the 
North, it should be while clinging to the Constitution. It is but 
reasonable to suppose that the firm staad which Mr. Buchanan 
took upon this question has been one of the reasons why the 
grand old democratic State of Pennsylvania has been put down 
as invincible, against any force which faction can bring against 
her. There she stands as a barrier to the waves of Northern 
delusion, saying, " thus far thou shalt go and no farther." It is 
a worthy tribute of her devotion to the Constitution and the lawa 

16* 



370 LITE AND SEKVICES OF JAMi:3 BUCHANAN. 

that ."n this the darkest hour of our history as a government, 
when men have had the hardihood to combine upon narrow- 
sectional issue's, when they have trampled under foot the name, 
the advice, and even the memory of Washington, that her 
favorite son should be chosen as the standard-bearer in the con- 
test between nationahty and sectionalism, between those who 
love the Union as it is and those who have been laboring for 
years with a spirit almost fiendish to produce estrangement and 
alienation between citizens of a common country, whose inte- 
rests are identical, and whose destiny is the same. 

The position which Mr. Buchanan assumed in regard to the 
policy of our government towards foreigners, was t^ikcn, hke 
that of the slavery question, long before there was any political 
party founded upon it. To make distinctions in regard to 
rehgious creed or birth-place would be to follow the European 
idea of castes or classes in society, and be a great departure 
from the fundamental principles of our system. 

We find him, therefore, in the Senate opposing those who 
would allow speculators to turn off from government lands the 
hardy foreign emigrant who had braved a thousand dangers to 
find in this New World a land where for once he could breathe 
freely the native air of a freeman, and be relieved of all those 
odious statutes of favoritism and class legislation which had 
oppressed him in the Old World, and bound him down in the 
chains of slavery. Every true man will applaud him for this 
noble position. Indeed, himself the son of such a settler, he 
would have been not only recreant to his duty as a democrat, 
but to his affection as a son, had he so soon forgotten the gene- 
rous pohcy of the administration of Washington and Jefferson, 
and refused that boon to others which had been granted to his 
own father. 

No man can peruse Mr. Buchanan's career as senator in 
Congress, and as Secretary of State, without being forcibly 
struck with the vast and important advantages he has con- 
ferred upon his country. There is not a prominent act of that 



itEvrEW or nis eenatokial lite. 371 

foww-tet-Q yca's' devotion to the public service which is not 
now arki'.owlt-'dgcd as riglit by men of all parties, and so fun- 
damentally settled is the policy of our government, that no one 
now purposes to disturb one of them. Time has given a tri- 
umphant vindication of the soundness of his judgment, of the 
correctness of his statesmanship, and of the purity of his 
patriotism. In the great and exciting question now at issue, 
which has absorbed all others, and brought upon a common 
platform those who have heretofore seen reasons to diCfer on 
other subjects, his record is so consistent that even his ene- 
mies do not for a moment question it. Always firm in liis 
political views, but moderate and conciliatory in expressing 
them, he is just the man whom all delight to honor, though 
they may have been heretofore compelled to differ with him 
in his political views and opinions. Next to a firm friend is an 
honorable opponent ; and that Mr. Buchanan has always sus- 
tained the latter character, whether on the floor of the Senate, 
or in the chair of the Secretary of State, no one will attempt 
to deny. 

In referring to the latter position, it is only necessary to say 
that the acquisition of California completely overshadows all the 
Dthcr valuable and important acts of Mr. Polk's administration. 
To Mr. Buchanan belongs the greatest honor of this achieve- 
ment, and our empire on the Pacific will and must ever trace 
its origin to the wise foresight, superior statesmanship, and 
commanding talents of James Buchanan, 



372 LIFE AlfD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANA.N. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Mr. Buchanan in private life — Opposition to the Wilmot Proviso — Approval of th« 
Compromise Measures — Mr. Buchanan's position in 1S52 — Mission to England — The 
Enlistment Question — The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty— The Ostend Meeting — Mr. 
Buchanan's return to the United States — His reception. 

Apter the retirement of Mr. Buchanan from Mr. Polk's 
cabinet, in 1849, upon the election of General Taylor, he 
gladly sought that rest and quiet in private life, which a long 
and uninterrupted devotion to the public service rendered 
agreeable as well as desirable. He had never sought public 
honors. Taken up at an early age by his neighbors, and 
placed in public life, he had there acquitted himself with such 
honesty, devotion, and singleness of purpose, that ever after- 
wards, step by step, his preferment came naturally, just as in 
this free country it should come, by the spontaneous acts of the 
people. He was placed in the Senate by the universal demand 
of his State, and continued there for the same reason. He was 
sent by General Jackson to Russia without the least solicitation 
of himself or his friends. He was called from the Senate to 
Mr. Polk's cabinet, solely because he possessed quahfications 
for the position which were not excelled, if equalled, by any 
democratic statesman. Having thus never sought public office, 
he could retire to private life with a pleasure unknown to those 
who aro pleased with official stations. 

Mr. Buchanan was not, however, an uninterested spectator 
of events. He could not but feel an interest in his country, 
and especially through that stormy time which finally resulted 
in the compromises of 1850. The acquisition of new territory 



ArpROVAL OF THE COMPROMISE mi-:asuri;3. 3^3 

had again started up the old agitation of the power of the 
general government to interfere with the status of the negro in 
the common territories of the Union. That unconstitutional 
dogma known as the Wilmot Proviso, was introduced as a bone 
of contention, and was seized by the anti-slavery agitators with 
great eagerness. For a period it obscured even the vision of 
many good democrats, who did not see the noxious principles 
it contained, and that the right to pass such an edict would 
involve still more alarming and more dangerous powers. The 
constitutional dem K'racy opposed this doctrine, Mr. Buchanan 
being among the first to raise his voice in opposition to it. lie 
proposed as a settlement the basis of the act of 1820, and 
that the Missouri line be extended to the Pacific. 

This proposition was contained in his celebrated " Harvest 
Home Letter," but it was universally condemned by the nnti- 
slavery agitators of the North. When the same proposition 
was introduced into the Senate, which body it passed, it was 
voted down in the House of Representatives by northern men, 
of aboUtion procUvities. By this act they forced upon the coun- 
try that terrible agitation which finally compelled all true 
patriots to unite for a common defence. Mr. Clay had retired 
to the quiet shades of Ashland, to pass the sunset of his life in 
meditation and repose, but hearing the angry voices of sectional 
strife, he rushed agam to the Senate, and there, with Mr. Web- 
ster, Gen. Cass, and others whose names which will live forever 
in our history, they passed the Compromise Measures of 1850, 
which were accepted by union men everywhere. However, much 
we may differ upon banks, tariffs, and other measures, the lan- 
guage of these men was, all good and true men can agree upon 
this question. In establishing these compromise measures, they 
acknowledged the principles now incorporated in the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, and upon these principles the union men of all 
parties agreed. Yet whQji it became necessary to apply this 
fundamental principle of government in the territorial bills of 
Nebraska and Kansas, an agitation again commenced which has 



374 LITE AND SEKYICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

had uo parallel in our history. The very men who in 1848 had 
rejected the Missouri line as a basis of settlement — who had 
declared that it was an infamous measure, and that if it was 
right to leave the question of negro slavery south of this line to 
the people, it was right to grant them the same privilege 
north of it, now denounced their own principles, and declared 
themselves in favor of that once infamous measure, the Missouri 
restriction ! Political inconsistency could go no further. 

After the passage of the Compromise Measures of 1850, Mr. 
Buchanan was among the first to endorse them, and to spread 
throughout his State a sound public sentiment in their favor. 
In a letter to a meeting held at Philadelphia, he said that the 
Missouri restriction had " passed away." All remember how 
the authors of these measures were assailed. Many of the 
political friends of Webster and Clay denounced them without 
mercy. No epithet was too severe to De applied to them, and 
even Mr. Webster was denied the privilege of speaking in 
Fanueil Hall, in defence of an act, demanded by the Constitu- 
tion of his country ! The firm stand taken by such patriots 
as Clay, Webster, Cass, and Buchanan, however, finally quieted 
the storm. 

And was it not a noble and a sublime sight ? For years they 
had been opponents upon nearly all prominent public questions, 
but when a subject came up which involved the safety of their 
country, they cast to the winds all thoughts of personal ambi- 
tion, and shoulder to shoulder fought against the surging tide 
of sectionalism. Nothing more is necessary to establish their 
patriotic love of country, or their devotion to its best interests. 
This coincidence of opinion among these gi'eat men is just now 
worthy of remembrance, for if the opposing leaders could thus 
so cordially unite, there is no reason why their friends may not 
lay aside every recollection of past party contests, and come up 
to the defence of their country and its Constitution, against a 
spirit which would ruin the one and destroy the other. 

The following copious extracts from a letter written by Mr. 



ATPROVAL OF THE COMPROMISE MKASUliES. 375 

Buchanan, in November, 1S50, wlicn invited to attend a meet- 
ing in Plulade]i)hia, g-ive liis opinions freely and frankly on the 
Compromise Measures of 1850 : 

" I now say that tlic phitform of our blessed Union is st-ong 
cnougli and broad enough to sustain all true-heartod Ameri- 
cans. It is an elevated — it is a glorious platform on which the 
down-trodden nations of the earth gaze with hope and desire, 
with admiration and astonishment. Our Union is the star of 
the West, whose genial and steadily increasing inlluence will at 
last, should we remain an united people, dispel the gloom of 
despotism from the ancient nations of the world. Its moral 
power will prove to be more potent than millions of armed mer- 
cenaries. And shall this glorious star set in darkness before it 
has accomplished half its mission ? Heaven forbid ! Let us 
all exclaim with the lieroic Jackson, ' The Union must and shall 
be preserved.' 

" And what a Union has this been 1 The history of the 
human race presents no parallel to it. The bit of striped bunt- 
ing which was to be swept from the ocean by a British navy, 
according to the predictions of a British statesman, previous to 
the war of 1812, is now displayed on every sea, and in every 
port of the habitable globe. Our glorious stars and stripes, 
the flag of our country, now protects Americans in every clinic. 
* I am a Roman citizen 1' was once the proud exclamation wliich 
everywhere shielded an ancient Eoraan from insult and injus- 
tice. ' I am an American citizen 1' is now an exclamation of 
almost equal potency throughout the civilized world. This is a 
tribute due to the power and resources of these thirty-one United 
States. In a just cause, we may defy the world in arms. We 
have lately presented a spectacle which has astonished the 
greatest captain of the age. At the call of their country, an 
irresistible host of armed men, and men, too, skilled in the use 
of arms, sprung up like the soldiers of Cadmus, from the moun- 
tains and valleys of our confederacy. The struggle among 



'dTG LIFE AND SERYICES OF JA;ME3 IJUCHANAN. 

them was not who should remain at home, but who should 
enjoy the privilege of enduring the dangers and privations of a 
foreign war, in defence of their country's rights. Heaven forbid 
that the question of slavery should ever prove to be the stone 
thrown into their midst by Cadmus, to make them turn their 
arras against each other, and die in mutual conflict. 

****** 

" The common sufferings and common glories of the past, the 
prosperity of the present, and the brilliant hopes of the future, 
must impress every patriotic heart with deep love and devcition 
for the Union. Who that is now a citizen of this vast Kepub- 
lic, extending from the St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande, and 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, does not shudder at the idea 
of being transformed into a citizen of one of its broken, jealous, 
and hostile fragments ? What patriot had not rather shed the 
last drop of his blood, than see the thirty-one brilliant stars, 
which now float proudly upon her country's flag, rudely torn 
from the national banner, and scattered in confusion over the 
face of the earth ? 

" Rest assured that all the patriotic emotions of every true- 
hearted Pennsylvanian, in favor of the Union and Constitution, 
are shared by the southern people. What battle field lias 
not been illustrated by their gallant deeds ; and when in our 
history, have they ever shrunk from sacrifices and sufferings in 
the cause of their country ? What, then, means the muttering 
thunder which we hear from the South ? The signs of the 
times are truly portentous. Whilst many in the South openly 
advocate the cause of secession and union, a large majority, as 
I firmly believe, still fondly chng to the Union, awaiting with 
deep anxiety the action of the North oi^ the compromise lately 
effected in Congress. Should this be disregarded and nullified by 
the citizens of the North, the southern people may become united, 
and then farewell, a long farewell to our blessed Union. I am no 
alarmist ; but a brave and wise man looks danger steadily in 
the face. This is the best means of avoiding it. I am deeply 



APPKOVAL OF THE COMPKOMISK MKASUKE3. 377 

impressed with the coavictioa that the Xortli neither sufBcicntlv 
understands nor appreciates the danger. For my own part, I 
have been steadily watching its progress for the last fifteen 
years. During that period I have often sounded the alarm ; 
but my feeble warnings have been disregarded. I now solemnly 
declare as the deliberate conviction of ray judgment, that two 
things are necessary to preserve this Union from danger : 

" ' 1. Agitation in the North on the subject of southern 
slavery must be rebuked and put down by a strong and 
enlightened pubHc opinion. 

" ' 2. The Fugitive Slave Law must be enforced in its spirit.' 

"On each of these points I shall offer a few observations. 

" Those are greatly mistaken who suppose that the tempest 
that is now raging in the South has been raised solely by the 
acts or omissions of the present Congress. The minds of the 
southern people have been gradually prepared for this explosion 
by the events of the last fifteen years. Much and devotedly as 
they love the Union, many of them are now taught to believe 
that the peace of their own firesides, and the securities of their 
families, cannot be preserved without separation from us. 
The crusade of the Abolitionists agamst their domestic 
peace and security commenced in 1835. General Jackson, 
in his annual message to Congress, in December of that 
year, speaks of it in the following emphatic language : * I must 
also invite your attention to the painful excitement produced 
in the South by attempts to circulate through the mails inflam- 
matory appeals, addressed to the passions of the slaves, in 
prints and various sorts of publications, calculated to stimulate 
them to insurrection, and produce all the horrors of a servile 
war.' 

" From that period the agitation in the North against 
southern slavery has been incessant, by means of the press, of 
State Legislatures, of State and County Conventions, Abolition 
lectures, and every other method which fanatics and dema- 
gogues could devise. The time of Congress has been wastod 



378 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN". 

in violent harangues on tlie subject of slavery. Inflammatory 
appeals have been sent forth from this central point throughout 
the country, the inevitable efl'ect of which has been to create 
geographical parties, so much dreaded by tlie Father of his 
Country, and to estrange the northern and southern divisions 
of the Union from each other. 

" Before the Wilmot Proviso was interposed, the abolition of 
slavery in the District of Columbia had been the chief theme of 
agitation. Petitions for this purpose, by thousands, from 
men, women and children, poured into Congress, session after 
session. The rights and the wishes of the owners of slaves 
within the District, were boldly disregarded. Slavery was 
denounced as a national disgrace, which the laws of God and 
the laws of men ought to abolish, cost what it might. It 
mattered not to the fanatics that the abolition of slavery in the 
District would convert it into a citadel, in the midst of two 
slaveholding States, from which the abolitionist could securely 
scatter arrovvs, firebrands and death, all around. It mattered 
not with them that the abolition of slavery in the District would 
be a violation of the spirit of the Constitution and of the 
implied faith pledged to Maryland and Virginia, because the 
whole world kcows that those States would never have ceded 
it to the Union, had they imagined it could ever be converted 
by Congress into a place from which their domestic peace and 
security might be assailed by fanatics and Abolitionists. Nay, 
the Abolitionists went even still further. They agitated for the 
purpose of abolishing slavery in the forts, arsenals and navy 
yards which the Southern States had ceded to the Union, under 
the Constitution, for the protection and defence of the 
country. 

" Thus stood the question when the "Wilmot Proviso was 
intei-posed, to add fuel to the flame, and to excite the southern 
people to madness. 

******* 

" It would be the extreme of dangerous infatuation to sup 



APrilOVAL OF TIIK COMPKOMISE MEAStlRKS. 3TU 

pose ^hat the Union was not then in serious danp;cr. Had the 
Wihnot Proviso become a law, or had shivery been aljuiislied 
in the District of Columbia, nothing short of a special interposi- 
tion of Divine Providence could have prevented the secession of 
most, if not all the shiveholding States. 

" It was from this great and glorious old Connnonwealth, 
rightly demonstrated the ' Keystone of the Arch,' that the Orst 
ray of light emanated to dispel the gloom. She stands now as 
the days-man, between the North and the South, and can lay 
her hand on either party, and say, thus far shalt thou go, and 
no farther. The wisdom, moderation and firmness of her 
people, calculate her eminently to act as the just and equitable 
umpire between the extremes. 

" It was the vote in our State House of Picprcscntativcs, 
refusing to consider the instructing resolutions in favur of the 
AVilmot Proviso, which first cheered the heart of every patriot 
in the land. This was speedily followed by a vote of the House 
of Representatives at Washington, nailing the Wihnot Proviso 
itself to the table. And here I ought not to forget the great 
meeting held in Philadeljjhia on the birth-day of the Father of 
his Country, in favor of the Union, which gave a hajipy and 
irresistible impulse to ])ublic opinion throughout the State, and 
I may add throughout the Union. 

" The honor of the South has been saved by the Compromise. 
The Wihnot Proviso is for ever dead, and slavery will never bo 
abolished in the District of Columbia whilst it continues to exist 
in Maryland. The receding storm in the South still continues 
to dash with violence, but it will gradually subside, should 
agitation cease in the North. All that is necessary for us to 
do ' is to execute the Fugitive Slave Law,' and to let the 
southern people alone, suffering thena to manage their own 
domestic concerns in their own way. * * * * 

" 2. I shall proceed to ])resent to you some views upon the 
subject of the much misrepreseuted Fugitive Slave Law. It is 
now evident, from all the signs of the times, that this is destined 



380 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAIVIES BUCHANAN. 

to become the principal subject of agitation at the present 
session of Congress, and to take tlie place of the Wilmot 
Proviso. Its total repeal or its material modification will 
henceforward be the battle cry of the agitators of the 
North. 

" And what is the character of this law ? It was passed to 
carry into execution a plain, clear, and mandatory provision of 
the Constitution, requiring that fugitive slaves, who fly from 
service in one State to another, shall be delivered up to their 
masters. The provision is so explicit that he who runs may 
read. No commentary can present it in a stronger light than 
the plain words of the Constitution. It is a well-known histo- 
rical fact, that without this provision, the Constitution itself 
could never have existed. How could this have been other- 
wise ? Is it possible for a moment to believe that the slave 
States would have formed a union with the free States, if 
under it their slaves, by sim[)ly escaping across the boundary 
which separates them, would acquire all the rights of freemen ? 
This would have been to offer an irresistible temptation to all 
the slaves of the South to precipitate themselves upon the 
North. The Federal Constitution, therefore, recognizes in the 
clearest and most emphatic terms, the property in slaves, and 
protects this property by prohibiting any State, into which a 
slave might escape, from discharging him from slavery, and by 
requii'ing that he shall be delivered up to his master. 
■X- ***** * 

" The two principal objections urged against the Fugitive 
Slave Law are, that it will promote kidnapping, and that it 
does not provide a trial by jury for the fugitive in the State to 
which he has escaped. 

" The very same reasons may be urged, with equal force, 
against the act of 1793 ; and yet it existed for more than half 
a century without encountering any such objections. 

" In regard to kidnapping, the fears of the agitators are 
altogether groundless. The law reouires that the fugitive shall 



APPROVAL OF THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 3S1 

be taken before the judge or commissioner. Tlioy must tliero 
prove, to the sa*'sfactiou of the magistrate, the identity of the • 
fugitive, that he is the master's property, and has escaped from 
bis service. Now, I ask, would a kidnapper ever undertake 
such a task ? "Would he suborn witnesses to commit perjury 
and expose himself to detection before the judge or commis- 
sioner, and in the presence of the argus eyes of a non-slavc- 
holding community, whose feelings will always be in favor of 
the slave ? No, never. The kidnapper seizes his victim in the 
silence of the night, or in a remote and obscure place, and hurries 
him away. lie does not expose himself to the public gaze, lie 
will never bring the unfortunate object of his rapacity before a 
commissioner or a judge. Indeed, I have no recollection of 
having heard or read of a case in which a free man was kid- 
napped under the forms of law, during the whole period of 
more than half a century, since the act of 1193 was passed. 
^«• * * * * * * 

" The Union cannot long endure, if it be bound together 
only by paper bonds. It can be firmly cemented alone by the 
affections of the people of different States for each other. 
Would to Heaven that the spirit of mutual forbearance and 
brotherly love which presided at its birth, could once more be 
restored to bless the land 1 Upon opening a volume, a few 
days since, my eyes caught a resolution of a Convention of the 
Counties of Maryland, assembled at Annapolis, in June, 1774, 
in consequence of the pussage by the British Parliament, of the 
Boston Port Bill, whicli provided for opening a subscription 
'in the several counties of the Province, for an immediate 
collection for the relief of ihe distressed inhabitants of Boston, 
now cruelly deprived of the means of procuring subsistence for 
themselves and families by the operation of the said act of 
blocking up their harbor.' Would that the spirit of fraternal 
affection which dictated this noble resolution, and which actu- 
ated all the conduct of oui- revolutionary fathers, miglit returu 
to bless and reanimate the bosoms of their descendants I 



3S2 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAK. 

This would reuder our Union indissoluble. It would be the 
living soul infusing itself into the Constitution and inspiring it 
with irresistible energy." 

When the Baltimore Convention of 1852 met, a large num- 
ber of Mr. Buchanan's friends desired to put him in nomination 
for the Presidency. According to his usual course during his 
whole life, he would do nothing to interfere with the pure and 
free expression of public opinion, perfectly satisfied with 
whatever the result might be. After a warm contention, our 
present Chief Magistrate was selected as the standard- 
bearer in that campaign, and no one gave him a more generous 
or hearty support than Mr. Buchanan. During tlie contest he 
stood in the van of the democratic ranks in Pennsylvania, encou- 
raging the democracy to tight on and fight ever for the main 
teuance of their time-honored principles. 

The following remar!\able passages from his speech delivered 
to a mass meeting of the democracy of Western Pennsylvania, 
on the 7th of October, 1852, at Greensburg, Westmoreland 
County, are so characteristic of the man and his opinions that 
we do not hesitate to copy them. Eemember that, at no time 
did he ever yield a jot or tittle to sectionalism. He was against 
it instinctively, and from the start. He said : 

" From my soul, I abhor the practice of mingling up religion 
with politics. The doctrine of all our constitutions, both Fede- 
ral and State, is, that every man has an indefeasible right to 
worship his God according to the dictates of his own conscience. 
He is both a bigot and a tyrant, who would interfere with that 
sacred right. When a candidate is before the people for office, 
the inquiry ought never even to be made, what form of religious 
faith he possesses ; but only, in the language of Mr, Jefferson, 
' Is he honest, is he capable V 

" ' Democratic Americans 1' What a name for a Native 
American party ! When all the records of our past history 



Hic POSITION IN 1S52. 383 

prove that American democrats have ever opened wide their 
arms to receive foreigners flying from oppression in tlieir nalivo 
laud, and have always bestowed upon them the rights of Ame- 
rican citizens, after a brief period of residence in tliis conutry. 
Tlie democratic party have always gloried in this policy, and 
its fruits have been to increase our i)opu]ation and our ])owcr 
with unexampled rapidity, and to furnish our country with vast 
numbers of industrious, patriotic and useful citizens. Surely 
the name of ' Democratic Americans' was an unfortunate desig- 
nation for the Native American party. 

" The Native American party, an ' American excellence,' and 
the glory of its foundership, belongs to George Washington 1 
No, fellow-citizens, the American people will rise up with one 
accord to vindicate the memory of tliat illustrious man from 
such an hnputation. As long as the recent memory of our 
revolutionary struggle remained vividly impressed on the hearts 
of our countrymen, no such party could have ever existed. The 
recollection of Montgomery, Lafayette, De Kallj, Kosciusko, 
and a long list of foreigners, both officers and soldiers, who 
freely shed their blood to secure our liberties, would have ren- 
d(,'red such ingratitude impossible. Our revolutionary t. -ny was 
filled with the brave and patriotic natives of their lands ; and 
George Washmgton was their commauder-iu-chief. AV'ould he 
have ever closed the door against the admission of foreigner? to 
the rights of American citizens ? Let his acts speak for thcp' 
selves. So early as the 26th of March, 1790, General Vt'asli- 
u-gton, as President of the United States, approved the first 
law which ever passed Congress on the subject of naturalization ; 
and this only required a residence of two years, previous to the 
adoption of a foreigner as an American citizen. On the 29th 
January, 1795, the term of residence was extended by Congress 
to five years, and thus it remained throughout General Wash- 
ington's administration, and until after the accession of John 
Adams to the Presidency. In his administration, which will 
ever be known iii history as the reign of terror, as the era of 



3S4 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

alien and sedition laws, an act was passed on tlie 18th of June, 
1798, which prohibited any foreigner from becoming a citizen 
until after a residence of fourteen years, and this is the law, or 
else, perpetual exclusion, which General Scott preferred, and 
which the Native American party now desire to restore. 

" The Presidential election of 1800 secured the ascendency 
of the democratic party, and under the administration of 
Thomas Jefferson, its great apostle, on the 14th of April, 1802, 
the term of residence previous to naturalization was restored to 
five years, what it had been under General Washington, and 
where it has ever since remained. No, fellow-citizens, the 
father of his country was never a 'Native American.' This 
'American excellence' never belonged to him." 

Speaking of the Fugitive Slave Law, Mr. Buchanan said : 

" It is a law founded both upon the letter and the spirit of 
the Constitution, and a shnilar law has existed on our statute 
books ever since the administration of George AVashington. 
History teaches us that but for the provision in favor of fugitive 
slaves, '^Tr present Constitution never would have existed. 
Think ye that the South will ever tamely surrender the Fugitive 
Slave Law to northern fanatics and abolitionists ? 

" And now, fellow-citizens, what a glorious party the Demo- 
cratic party has ever been 1 Man is but the being of a sum- 
mer's day, whilst principles are eternal. The generations of 
mortals, one after the other, rise and sink, and are forgotten, 
but the principles of democracy, which we have inherited from 
our revolutionary fathers, will endure to bless mankind through- 
out all generations. Is there any democrat within the sound 
of my voice, is there any democrat throughout the broad limits 
of good and great old democratic Pennsylvania, who will aban- 
don these sacred principles for the sake of following in the train 
of a military conqueror, and shouting for the hero of Lundj 3 
Lane. Cerro Gordo, and Chapultepec" 



MISSION TO ENGLAND. 385 

After the campaign, Prosideut Pierce tendered to Mr. Bucha- 
nan the mission to thp court of St. James. For a number of 
years the position of minister to Great Britaii has been growing 
in importance. The intimate commercial and other relations 
existing between the two countries are of themselves enough to 
demand the attention of a tried statesman and a prudent man, 
but when we add to this the constant liability there is of the 
rising of pohtical questions of great and enduring importance, 
we may well consider the mission to England only second to 
that of the position of the President. Certainly Mr. Pierce 
did a very popular act when he tendered this place to Mr. 
Buchanan. Our business and mercantile men felt that the rela- 
tions of peace between the two countries were in the hands of a 
man of steadiness of character, who would do nothing to involve 
us in an unnecessary war, while all classes had confidence that 
he would not barter away any real interest of our country, or 
tamely submit to anything that would involve national dis- 
honor. 

As it happened while he held this responsible position, two 
questions did arise which have required the most consummate 
tact for their proper management. To these Mr. Buchanan 
brought a degree of diplomatic ability which would have in- 
scribed his name, had it not been there before, among the most 
skillful negotiators. It is sufficient to say, that thus far the 
United States have decidedly the best of both points in dispute. 
The dismissal of Mr. Crampton, the British minister, was placed 
upon grounds so self-evident, that even England has not dared 
to cavil at them. The various dispatches of Mr. Buchanaa 
have been so recently published, that they are fresh in every- 
one's mind. They are direct and explicit, and without the 
usual evasiveness which characterizes diplomacy. Indeed, the 
direct American plainness and honesty of Mr. Buchanan's dip- 
lomatic papers exceedingly puzzle the old school of European 
tricksters. They are not accustomed to such downright frank- 
ness. 

n 



3S6 LIFE AND SERVICES OF J^NJklES BUCnAXAN. 

The management of the Central American question has, 
howeyer, been the principal subject to which his attention was 
directed while a minister to Great Britain. To him are we in- 
debted for the unravelling of that curious piece of diplomatic 
patch-work, called by way of courtesy the Claytoa-Bulwer 
treaty, an instrument so profound that it puzzles even its au- 
thors. Such confidence did Mr. Pierce and the cabinet have in 
Mr. Buchanan's eminent ability to manage the whole affair 
connected with our rights in Central America, that on the 12th 
of August, 1853, shortly after his arrival in England, the Pre- 
sident " considering his (Mr. Buchanan's) intimate knowledge 
of the subject in all its beariugs," transmitted to him full power 
to conclude a treaty with Great Britaia in relation to the 
Central American questions. A correspondence was accord- 
ingly commenced between Mr. Buchanan and Lord Clarendon, 
for the purpose of ascertaining if possible the exact difference 
which existed between the two countries in regard to the con- 
struction of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. This negotiation was 
interrupted by the Russian war, and the delicacy which Mr. 
Buchanan naturally and justly felt in pushing a prompt reply 
to his communications while England was engaged in a foreign 
contest. At length, after Mr. Buchanan had intimated a desire 
to be reheved from the onerous duties of his mission, Mr. Marcy 
addressed him, stating his earnest desire that the question 
might be brought to a distinct issue before Mr. Buchanan should 
retire from his mission, " The negotiation," said Mr. Marcy 
emphatically, " cannot be committed to any one who so well 
understands the subject in all its bearings as you do, or who 
can so ably sustain and carry out the views of the United 
States." This opinion, flattering as it is to Mr. Buchanan, is 
no more nor less than the simple truth. For thirty years he 
has studied with care and attention the position of affairs in 
that portion of our continent, and the remark is a most just 
one, that no statf^sman in this country " so well understanda 
the subject." 



THE CLAYTOX-BUr.WKIl TRKATT. 3/1 

In accordance, therefore, with tlic urgent request i I thcs 
President, Mr. Buchanan made another cfifurt to bring /-ord 
Chirendon to the discussion of the question. In a nc "x; to 
him, Mr. Biichauan very pointedly and urgently says, " the 
President has directed the undersigned, before retiring fro n his 
mission, to request from the British government a statemeut of 
the positions which it has determined to maintain in regard to 
the Bay Islands, the territory between the Sibun and Sarstoon, 
as well as the Belize settlement and the Mosquito protectorate. 
The long delay in asking for this information has proceeded 
from the President's reluctance to manifest any impatience on 
this important subject whilst the attention of her majesty's 
government was engaged by the war with Russia. But as 
more than a year has already elapsed since the termination of 
the discussion on these subjects, and as the first session of the 
new Congress is speedily approaching, the President does not 
feel that he would be justified iu any longer delay." 

The first detailed statemeut of the positions of our govern- 
ment was submitted by Mr. Buchanan to Lord Clarendon 
January 6th, 1854. The reply of Lord C. is dated on the 2d 
of May following, to which Mr. Buchanan replied on the 2 2d 
of Jul V, in a long and elaborate history of all the points in 
dispute. It is impossible to give anything like even the points 
of this unanswerable vindication of our rights in Central Ame- 
rica, yet we cannot rcfraiu from presenting the following shon 
extract, which after all gives the pith of the absurd pretcn- 
' eions of the British government. After citing the article in 
the treaty in dispute, Mr. Buchanan asks : 

"What, then, is the fair construction of the article? It 
embraces two objects. 1. It declares that neither of the par- 
ties shall ever acquire any exclusive control over the ship cafial 
to be constructed between the Atlantic and the Pacific, by the 
route of the river San Juan de Nicaragua, and that neither of 
them shall ever erect or maintain any fortifications command- 



388 LIFE AJaH SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAJT. 

ing the same or in tlie vicinity thereof. In regard to this stipa- 
lation, no disagreement is known to exist between the parties. 
But the article proceeds further in its mutually self-denying 
poUcy, and in the second place, declares that neither of the 
parties will ' occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume, or exer- 
cise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito 
coast, or any part of Central America.' 

" We now reach the true point. Does this language require 
that Great Britain shall withdraw from her existing possessions 
in Central America, including ' the Mosquito coast V The lan- 
guage pecuharly applicable to this coast will find a more appro- 
priate place in a subsequent portion of these remarks. 

" If any individual enters into a solemn and exphcit agree- 
ment that he will not ' occupy ' any given tract of country then 
actually occupied by him, can any proposition be clearer, than 
that he is bound by his agreement to withdraw from such occu- 
pancy ? Were this not the case, these words would have no 
meaning, and the agreement would become a mere nullity. 
Nay more, in its effect it 'would amount to a confirmation of 
the party in the possession of that very territory which he had 
bound himself not to occupy, and would practically be equiva- 
lent to an agreement that he should remain in possession — a 
contradiction in terms. It is difficult to comment on language 
which appears so plain, or to offer arguments to prove that the 
meaning of words is not dkectly opposite to thek well-known 
signification. 

" And yet the British government consider that the conven- 
tion interferes with none of their existing possessions in Central 
America ; that it is entirely prospective in its nature, and 
merely prohibits them from making new acquisitions. If this 
be the case, then it amounts to a recognition of their rights, on 
the part of the American government, to all the possessions 
which they already hold, whilst the United States have bound 
themselves by the very same instrument, never, under any cir- 
cumstances, to acquire ths possession of a foot of territory in 



tiil; clatton-bul'wkk tki.aty. 389 

Ccutral America. The mutuality of tlic couvention would thus 
be entirely destroyed ; and whilst Great Britain may eontiimo 
to hold nearly the whole eastern coast of Central America, the 
United States have abandoned the right for all future time to 
acquire any territory, or to receive into the American Union 
any of the States in that portion of their cwu continent. This 
self-imposed prohibition was the great objection to the treaty in 
the United States at the time of its conclusion, and was power- 
fully urged by some of the best men in the country. Had it 
then been imagined that whilst it prohibited the United States 
from acquiring territory, under any possible circumstances, in a 
portion of America through which their thoroughfares to Cali- 
fornia and Oregon must pass, the couvention, at the same time, 
permitted Great Britain to remain ju the occupancy of all her 
existing possessions in that region, Mr. Buchanan expresses the 
confident conviction that there would not have been a single 
vote in the American Senate in favor of its ratification. lu 
every discussion it was taken for granted that the convention 
required Great Britain to withdraw from these possessions, and 
thus place the parties upon an exact equality in Central Ame- 
rica. Upon this construction of the convention there was quite 
as great an unanimity of opinion as existed in the House of 
Lords, that the convention with Spain of 1786 required Great 
Britain to withdraw from the Mosquito protectorate " 

Lord Clarendon, in the course of his statement, referred, in a 
somewhat sneering manner, to the Monroe doctrine, and cha- 
racterized it as merely the " dictum of its distinguished author." 
Mr. Buchanan replied that " did the occasioa require, he would 
cheerfully undertake the task of justifying the wisdom and 
policy of the Monroe doctrine, in reference to the nations of 
Europe, as well as to those on the American coutineut." Mr. 
Buchanan closes his statement as follows : 

" But no matter what may be the nature of the British claim 



590 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BCCIIANAN. 

to the country between the Sibun and the Sarstoon, the obser- 
vation already made in reference to the Bay Islands and the 
Mosquito coast must be reiterated, that the great question 
does not turn uDon the validity of this claim previous to the 
convention of 1850, but upon the facts that Great Britain has 
bound herself by this convention not to occupy any part of 
Central America, nor to exercise dominion over it ; and that 
the territory in question is within Central America, even under 
the most limited construction of these words. In regard to 
Belize proper, confined within its legitimate boundaries, under 
the treaties of 1783 and 1186, and limited to the usufruct spe- 
cified in these treaties, it is necessary to say but a few words. 
The government of the United States will not, for the present, 
insist upon the withdrawal .of Great Britain from this settle- 
ment, provided all the other questions between the two govern- 
ments concerning Central America can be amicably adjusted. 
It has been influenced to pursue this course partly by the 
declaration of Mr. Clayton on the 4th of July, 1850, but 
mainly in consequence of the extension of the license granted 
by Mexico to Great Britain, under the treaty of 182G, which 
that republic has yet taken no steps to terminate. 

" It is, however, distinctly to be understood, that the govern- 
ment of the United States acknowledge no claim of Great 
Britain within Belize, except the temporary ' liberty of making 
use of the wood of the different kinds, the fruits, and other pro- 
duce in their natural state,' fully recognizing that the former 
' Spanish sovereignty over the counti'y ' now belongs either to 
Guatemala or Mexico. 

" In conclusion, the government of the United States most 
cordially and earnestly unite in the desire expressed by ' her 
majesty's government, not only to maintain the convention of 
1850 intact, but to consolidate and strengthen it by strength- 
ening and consolidating the friendly relations which it was cal- 
culated to cement and perpetuate.' Under these mutual feel- 
ings, it is deeply to be regretted that the two governments 



THE OSTEXB MKKTINCr. 891 

entertain opinions so widely different in regard to its true effect 
and meaning." 

This protocol has certainly so reviewed the whole ([ucstion 
in dispute, tliat it has loft but little for his successor to do, 
except to adhere to the positions already established. Unfor- 
tunately, Mr. Buchanan did not have the satisfaction to see 
this matter arranged before he left England, and it yet remains 
to be seen what course the British government will take in 
the matter. 

While Mr. Buchanan was in England, the relations of our 
country with Cuba became very much disturbed, l)y a difTiculty 
in regard to the steamer Black AVarrior. The constant fear 
that has existed, of a revolution in that unhappy island, was also 
increased by various developments, and under all the circum- 
stances, the President determined to follow the course adopted 
by his predecessors in office, and make an effort to purchase 
Cuba of Spain. Mr. Soule, our minister to the Spanish govern- 
ment, was specially charged with conducting the negotiation. 
But as England and France were more or less connected, or 
rather assumed to connect themselves with whatever disposition 
Spain might make of Cuba, the President thought it highly im- 
portant that our ministers to each of these countries should 
meet at some specified place, and come to a general understand- 
ing in regard to the policy to be pursued in order that there 
might be uniformity of action. 'This recommendation of the 
President gave rise to what has been known as the " Ostend 
Conference," a meeting merely for the familiar interchange of 
views, between Mr. Buchanan as minister to England, Mr. Ma- 
son as minister to France, and Mr. Soule as minister to Spain. 
They met first at Ostend, in Belgium, and then at A\x la Cha- 
pelle, in Prussia. As the document drawn u[) by the ministers, 
containing theu' views on the question, and presented to the 
President, has been much maligned and misrepresented, wegivo 
it entire. It will be seen that, so far as M- Buchanan Ls coD' 



392 LITE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN'. 

ceraed, the views do not differ from those he presented t«j 
the public, in his speech on the Panama question, in 1824, and 
that no action is either thought of, suggested, or recommended, 
except in case Cuba comes under the influence of a foreign 
power, or seriously endangers the peace and security of our own 
country. ' The ministers' report is as follows : 

" There has been a full and unreserved interchange of views 
and sentiments between us, which we are most happy to inform 
you, has resulted in a cordial coincidence of opinion on the grave 
and important subjects submitted to our consideration. 

" We have arrived at the conclusion, and are thoroughly con- 
vinced that an immediate and earnest effort ought to be made 
by the government of the United States to purchase Cuba from 
Spain at any price for which it can be obtaiued, not exceeding 
the sum of dollars. 

" The proposal should, in our opinion, be made in such a man- 
ner as to be presented through the necessary diplomatic forms 
to the Supreme Constituent Cortes about to be assembled. Ou 
this momentous question, in which the people both of Spain and 
the United States are so deeply interested, all our proceedings 
ought to be open, frank, and public. They should be of 
such a character as to challenge the approbation of the 
w^orld. 

" We firmly believe, that in the progress of human events, 
the time has arrived when the vital interests of Spain are as 
seriously involved in the sale, as those of the United States in 
the purchase of the island ; and that the transaction will prove 
equally honorable to both nations. 

" Under these circumstances, we cannot anticipate a failure, 
unless possibly through the malign influence of foreign powers, 
who possess no right whatever to interfere in the roatter. 

" We proceed to state some of the reasons whir.h have 
brought us to the conclusion ; and for the sake of cJe^-r^^w, w& 
shall specify them under two distinct heads. 



THE OSTEND MKETING. 393 

" First — The United Slates ought, if practicable, to purchase 
Cuba with as little delay as possible. 

" Second — The probability is great that the government and 
Cortes of Spain will prove willing to sell it, because this wv)uld 
essentially promote the highest and best interests of the Span- 
ish people. 

"The first — It must be clear to every reflecting mind, that 
from the peculiarity of its geographical position, and the con- 
siderations attendant on it, Cuba is as necessary to the Xtrth 
American Eepublic, as any of its present members, and that it 
belongs naturally to that great family of States, of which iho 
Union is the providential nursery. 

" From its locality, it commands the mouth of the Missis."?- 
ippi, and the immense annually hicreasing trade, which must 
seek this avenue to the ocean. On the numerous navigable 
streams, measuring an aggregate course of some 30,000 miles, 
which disembogue themselves through this magnificent river, 
into the Gulf of Mexico, the increase of the population during 
the last ten years amounts to more than that of the entire 
Union, at the time Louisiana was annexed to it. 

" The natural and main outlet to the products of this entire 
population, the highway of their direct intercourse with the 
Atlantic and the Pacific States, can never be secure, but must 
ever be endangered while Cuba is a dependency of a distinct 
power, in whose possession it has proved to be a source of con- 
stant annoyance and embarrassment to their interests. 

" Indeed, the Union can never enjoy repose, nor possess reli- 
able security, as long as Cuba is not embraced within its boun- 
daries. 

Its immediate acquisition by our government is of paramount 
importance, and we cannot doubt but that it is a cousummatiou 
devoutly wished for by its inhabitants. 

"The intercourse which its proximity to our coasts begets 
and encourages between the citizens of the United States, has, 
in the progress of time, so united their interests, and blended 



r-9'x- LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAJ^-. 

their fortunes, tliat they now look upon each other as if they 
were one people, and had but one destiny. 

" Considerations exist which render delay in the acquisition 
of this island exceedingly dangerous to the JJnited States. 

"The system of immigration and labor lately organized 
vvithin its limits, and the tyranny and oppression which charac- 
terize its immediate rulers, threaten an insurrection at every 
moment, which may result in direful consequences to the Ame- 
rican people. 

" Cuba has thus become to us an unceasing danger, and a 
permanent cause of anxiety and alarm. 

" But we need not enlarge on these topics. It can scarcely 
be apprehended that foreign powers, in violation of interna- 
tional law, would interpose their influence with Spain, to pre- 
vent our acquisition of the island. Its inhabitants are now 
suffering under the worst of all possible governments — that of 
absolute despotism, delegated by a distant power to irresponsi- 
ble agents, who are changed at short intervals, and who are 
tempted to improve the brief opportunity thus afforded to accu- 
mulate fortunes by the basest means. 

" As long as this system shall endure, humanity may in vain 
demand the suppression of the African slave-trade in the island. 
This is rendered impossible while that infamous traffic remains 
an irresistible temptation and a source of immense profit to 
needy and avaricious officials, who, to attain their end, scruple 
not to trample the most sacred principles under foot. 

" The Spanish government at home may be well disposed, 
but experience has proved that it cannot control these remote 
depositories of its power. 

"Besides, the commercial nations of the world cannot fail to 
perceive and appreciate the great advantages which would 
result to their people from a dissolution of the forced and 
unnatural connection between Spain and Cuba, and the annexa- 
tion of the latter to the United States. The trade of England 
and France with Cuba would, in that event, assume at once an 



THE OSTF.ND MKETIXO. 395 

important and profitable character, and rapidly extend with tlio 
increasing population and prosperity of the ishmd. 

" But if the United States and every conimereial nation l)e 
benefited by this transfer, the interests of Sj)ain would also be 
greatly and essentially promoted. She cannot but see that 
such a sum of money as we are willing to pay for the island 
■would effect in the development of her vast natural resources. 

" Two-thirds of this sum, if employed in the construction of 
a system of railroads, would ultimately prove a source of 
greater wealth to the Spanish people than that opened to thcii 
vision by ( -^tes. Their prosperity would date from the ratifi- 
cation of th treaty of cession. France has already constructed 
continuous aes of railroads from llavre, Marseilles, Valen- 
ciennes, anc Strasbourg, via Paris to the Spanish frontier, and 
anxiously av its the day when Spain shall find herself in a con- 
dition to exi .id these roads tlirough her northern provinces to 
Madrid, Sevi e, Cadiz, Malaga, and the frontier of Portugal. 

" This object once accomplished, Spain would become a 
centre of attraction for the travelling world, and secure a per- 
manent and profitable market for her various productions. 
Her fields, under the stimulus given to industry by remunera- 
ting prices, would teem with cereal grain, and her vineyards 
would bring forth a vastly increased quantity of choici wines. 
Spain would speedily become what a bountiful Providence 
intended she should be — one of the first nations of continental 
Europe, rich, powerful, and contented. 

" Whilst two-thirds of the price of the island would be ample 
for the completion of her most important public improvements, 
she might, with the remaining forty (million) thousands, satisfy 
the demands now pressing so heavily upon her credit, and 
create a sinking fund which woul.l gradually relieve her from 
the overwhelming debt now jiaralyzing her energies. 

•' Such is her present wretched financial condition, that her 
best bonds are sold upon her own bourse, at about one-third of 
their par value, whilst another class on which she pays no 



396 LIFE AND SEKVICE3 OF JAIIES EUCnANAN. 

interest have but a nominal value, and are quoted at ab^ut 
one sixth of the amount for which they were issued. 

" Besides, these latter are held principally by British creditors 
who may, from day to day, obtain the effective interposition 
of their own government for the purpose of coercing payment. 
Intimations to that effect have been already thrown out from 
high quarters, and unless some new source of revenue shall 
enable Spain to provide for such exigencies, it is not improba- 
ble that they may be realized. 

" Should Spain reject the present golden opportunity for 
developing her resources, and removing her present financial 
embarrassments, it may never again return. 

" Cuba, in her palmiest days, never yielded her exchequer 
after deducting the expenses of its government, a clear annual 
income of more than a million and a half of dollars. These 
expenses have increased to such a degree as to leave a deficit 
chargeable on the treasury of Spain to the amount of six hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

" In a pecuniary point of view, therefore, the island is an 
encumbrauce instead of a source of profit to the mother coun- 

try. 

" Under no probable circumstances can Cuba ever yield to 
Spain one per cent, on the large amount which the United 
States are willing to pay for its acquisition. 

" But Spain is in imminent danger of losing Cuba without 
remuneration. 

" Extreme oppression, it is now universally admitted, justi- 
fies any people in endeavoring to relieve themselves from the 
yoke of their oppressors. 

" The sufferings which the corrupt, arbitrary, and unrelent- 
ing, local administration necessarily entails upon the inhabi- 
tants of Cuba, cannot fail to stimulate and k(!ep alive that 
spirit of resistance and revolution against Spain which has of 
late years been so often manifested. In this condition of 
affairs, it is vain to expect that the sympathies of the peopl? 



TUE OSTKXD MKiniNG. 397 

of tlie Uiilted States will not be warmly culistcd in favor of 
their oppressed neighbors. 

"We know that the President is justly inflexible iu his deter- 
mination to execute the neutrality laws, but should the Cubann 
themselves rise in revolt against the oppression whicli they 
suffer, no human power could prevent eiti/.ens of the United 
States, and liberal-minded men of other countries, from rushing 
to their assistance. 

" Besides, the present is an age of adventure, in which rest- 
less and daring spirits abound in every portion of the world. 
It is not improbable, therefore, that Cuba may be wrested from 
Spain by a successful revolution, and in that event, she will not 
only lose the island, but the price which we are now willing to 
pay for it — a price far beyond what was ever paid by any one 
people to another for any province. 

" It may, also, be here remarked, that the settlement of this 
vexed question, by the cession of Cuba to the United States, 
would forever prevent the dangerous complications between 
nations to which it may otherwise give birth. 

"It is certain that, should the Cubans themselves organize 
an insurrection against the Spanish government, and should 
other independent nations come to the aid of S})ain in the con- 
test, no human power could, in our opinion, prevent the people 
and government of the United States from taking part in such 
civil war, in support of their neighbors and friends, 

" But if Spain, deaf to the voice of her own interest, and ac- 
tuated by stubborn pride and a false sense of honor, should 
refuse to sell Cuba to the United States, then the question will 
arise, what ought to be the course of the American govcrnracut 
under such circumstances ? 

" Self-preservation is the first law of nature with States, as 
well as with individuals. All nations have at different period!? 
acted upon this maxim. Although it has been made the pre- 
text for committing flagrant injustice, as in the partition of Po- 
land and other smiilar cases which history records, yet the prin- 



39S LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAl^AN. 

ciple itself, though often abused, has always been recog 
uized. 

" The United States have never acquired a foot of territory 
except by fair purchase, or, as in the case of Texas, upon the 
free aud voluntary apphcation of the people of that independent 
State, who desired to blend their destinies with our own. 

" Even our acquisitions from Mexico are no exception to the 
rule, because, although we might have claimed them by the 
right of conquest, in a just way, yet we purchased them for 
what was then considered by both parties a full aud ample 
equivalent. Our past history forbids that we should acquire 
the Island of Cuba without the consent of Spain, unless justified 
by the great law of self-preservation. We must, in any event, 
preserve our own conscious rectitude and our own self-respect. 
Whilst pursuing this course, we can afford to disregard the cen- 
sures of the world to which we have been so often and so un- 
justly exposed. After we shall have offered Spain a price for 
Cuba far beyond its present value, and this shall have been 
refused, it will then be time to consider the question, does Cuba, 
in the possession of Spain, seriously endanger our internal peace 
and the existence of our cherished Union ? Should this ques- 
tion be answered in the affirmative, then by every law, human 
and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from Spain, if we 
possess the power. And this upon the very same principle that 
would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house 
of his neighbor, if there were no other means of preventing the 
flames from destroying his ow^u home. Under such circum- 
stances we ought neither to count the cost nor regard the odds 
which Spain might enUst against us. We forbear to enter into 
the question w^hether the present condition of the island would 
justify such a measure. We should, however, be recreant to our 
duty, be unworthy of our gallant forefathers, aud commit base 
treason against our posterity, should we permit Cuba to be 
Africanized and become a second St. Domingo, with all ita 
attendant horrors to the white race, and suffer the flames to 



HIS KETCKN FliOSI ENGLAND. ."09 

extend to our ueigliboriiig shores, scrioasly to I'lidan-^cT, or 
actually to consume the fair fabric of our Union. Wo fear 
that the course and current of events are rapiilly tending 
towards such a catastrojihe. We, however, hope for the best, 
though we ought certainly to be prepared for the worst. 

" We forbear also to investigate the present condition of the 
question at issue between the Uuited States and Spain. A 
long series of injuries to our people have been committed in 
Cuba by Spanish oEScials, and arc unredressed ; but recently a 
most flagrant outrage on the rights of American citizens and 
on the flag of the Uuited States was perpetrated in the harbor 
of Havana, under circumstances which, without immediate 
redi'ess, would have justified a resort to measures of war in 
vindication of national honor. That outrage is not only 
uuatoucd, but the Spanish Government has deliberately sanc- 
tioned the acts of its subordinates, and as.sumed the respon- 
sibility attaching to them. Nothing could more impressively 
teach us the danger to which those peaceful relations it has 
ftver been the policy of the United States to cherish with foreign 
nations are constantly exposed, than the circumstances of that 
case — situated as Spain and the United States are, the latter 
having forborne to resort to extreme measures. But this course 
cannot, with due regard to their own dignity as an indepen- 
dent nation, continue. And our recommendations now submit- 
ted are dictated by the firm belief that the cession of Cuba to 
tue United States, with stipulations as beneficial to Spain as 
those suggested, is the only efi"ectual mode of settling all past 
differences, and of securing the two countries against future 
collisions. We have already witnessed the happy results for 
both count ries which followed a similar arrangement in regard 
to Florida." 

Mr. Buchanan returned to his native country on the 23d of 
April last. His course had been watched with intense anxiety 
by his fellow citizens, and when the Common Council of New 



4-00 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN". 

York city determined, without respect of party, to unite in 
giving him a public reception, it but expressed the general 
impulse of gratefulness to him for his distinguished services. 
The following preamble and resolution were unanimonsly 
passed by the city authorities. 

"Whereas, Mr. Buchanan's patriotic, dignified and able 
course as representative of his country at the British Court, 
and especially the judgment and ability displayed in conduct- 
ing the recent negotiations with Great Britain, have com- 
manded the admiration and approval of the American people, 
and whereas, the respect entertained by our citizens, without 
distinction of party, for his exalted character and commanding 
talents as evinced in a long career of conspicuous public service, 
ought to find a fitting expression in their representatives in the 
Common Council, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That a select committee of five be appointed to 
receive the Hon. James Buchanan, on his arrival at this port, as 
the guest of this city, and tender to him the hospitalities thereof." 

The reception which Mr. Buchanan experienced was cordial 
and enthusiastic. When he landed from the steamer, a dense 
crowd of persons surrounded the carriage, and cheer upon 
cheer attested the deep and earnest affection which the people 
always bestow upon a faithful public servant. Mr. Buchanan, 
while stopping in New York, was visited by a large number of 
persons of all political parties, -who congratulated him upon 
the successful manner in which he had conducted our foreign 
relations. A public dinner was tendered him by the corpora- 
tion, but Mr. Buchanan politely but decidedly declined it. He 
did not wish any display or ostentation. He would be happy 
to see his fellow-citizens in a famihar manner, but he did not 
desire to indulge in any feasting or parade. Accordingly, the 
next day after his arrival, he repaired to the Governor's room 
in the City Hall, where hundreds and thousands gratified an 



niS KECEPTIOX. 4«y» 

iiouofable desire in clasping: tlie hand of one wlio nud in ko 
distinguished a maimer sustained and added to the honor of hia 
country abroad. 

A brief speech delivered by Mr. Buchanan from the balcony 
of the Everett House, where he stopped, to a large crowd of 
persons who had assembled to serenade him, is so full of earnest 
feeling, that we give the principal portion. lie said : 

" Friends and Fellow-citizens : I can scarcely describe tho 
emotions I feel at the present moment, in view of the vast 
crowd of my fellow-citizens of the great commercial emporium 
of the Union. I have been for years abroad in a foreign land, 
and I like the noise of the democracy ! My heart responds to 
the acclamations of the noble citizens of this favored country. 
I have been abroad in other lands ; I have witnessed arbitrary 
power ; I have contemplated the people of other countries ; 
but there is no country under God's heavens where a man feels 
to his fellow-man, except in the United States. If you could 
feel how despotism looks on ; how jealous the despotic powers 
of the w^orld are of our glorious institutions, you would cherish 
the Constitution and Union to your hearts, next to yonr J)elief 
in the Christian religion — the Bible for Ileavcn and the Con- 
stitution of your country for earth." 

U>rt4..v.«o'.T7 

These noble sentiments were received with enthusiastic ap- 
plause. Indeed, wherever Mr. Buchanan went he was greeted 
with the warmest affection, lie left the city after only two 
days' sojourn, and hastened homeward. Everywhere on the 
line of his travel, he was received witli tho utmost enlhu.<^iasm. 
He was taken entirely by surprise, and bo humble and mod.- I 
was he in the estimate of bis own performances, that he could 
not account for the popular feeling. At his place of residence, 
Lancaster, however, he was destined to be more than surp:: 1. 
It seemed as if the entire population, men, women, aii.i • ..- 
dren, had turfled out to welcome him home. lie could undergo 



4:02 LIFE JvND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

the attentions of strangers, but when he saw his neighbors en 
viasse, those whom he had lived among for forty years, assem- 
bled, and disputing, as it were, who should be the first to 
express their gratification for his safe return, he was over- 
whelmed. He attempted to address them, but for a time his 
feelings overcame his power of utterance, and a tear testi- 
fied more deeply than the greatest eloquence how sensibly he 
was affected by the cordial greeting which was so spontane- 
ously extended to him. After the reception was over, Mr. 
Buchanan sought his quiet home, Wheatland, about a mile-and- 
a-half west of the city of Lancaster, where he has sinse re- 
mained. 

It is difficult, in these days of political misrepresentation, to 
convince people that every man who is a candidate for the 
Presidency is not engaged in a deep laid scheme for his own 
preferment. Yet Mr. Buchanan has not only been entirely 
guiltless of any such acts, but he was even surprised at the 
general feeling in his favor. When informed by some of his 
friends that the country had been looking with anxiety for his 
return, " For my return !" said Mr. Buchanan in real surprise, 
"Why should any interest be taken in me ?" " Because," they 
replied, " your consistent and candid position upon all pubHc 
questions have inspired all with confidence in you." " Well, 
said Mr. Buchanan, " I certainly have not sought it. I have 
simply endeavored to do my duty." These facts afford the 
key to the whole subject. A man who, with honesty of pur- 
pose, strives to do his duty, does not take into consideration 
the effect of his conduct ; while the people, with that natural 
instinct which always responds to purity of intention, take up 
such a man, and bestow upon him honors that he did not ex- 
pect, and is surprised to receive. In this way has Mr. Buchanuu 
been placed so prominently before the American people. 



BKOUGnT FOr.WAUD FOli TIIK rRL:sn)Kxco. 403 



CHAPTER XXIII 

Mr. Buchanan brought forward for the Presidency— His Nomination at Cincinnati— 
The National Democratic Platform — Letter of the Conmiiltec officiully announcing 
tlie NoDunation — Mr. Buchanan's Reply. 

Long before Mr. Buchanan returned from Europe a large and 
influential portion of bis politieal friends in different parts of 
the Union brought forward his name as a candidate for the 
Presidency. The democratic convention of his own State held 
at Ilarrisburg on the 4th of March, 185G, had also presented 
his name prominently to the public. All acknowledge the right 
of Pennsylvania as the democratic banner State to make a 
claim upon the party, and especially should she be heeded wheu 
she presented a name at once so acceptable to her own citizens 
as well as to the people of the United States. The time and 
circumstances seemed to conspire to force ^Ir. Buchanan 
upon the attention of the public. Never since the formatiou 
of our government had a more formidable agitation been con- 
ceived, or been conducted upon such systematic principle.<:. He 
was known to combine in his character, what is rarely ever 
found miited in the same person ; a mind always cajiuble of tak- 
ing an expanded and progressive view of public questions, and 
at the same time preserve that healthful degree <if conserva- 
tism which checks excesses, guides events within the bounds t)f 
reason, and in fact sustains that healthful progress of .sin-icty 
which is as equally removed from rashness as from the doa«l 
calm of inactivity. Then too he was looked upon as a soft man 
in every emergency — one to whom the country could look with 



404 LITE AKD SERVICES OF JA:«:ES BCTCHANAlf. 

coufidence. He had also arrived at that age ia life when the 
experience of the statesman had ripened into the wisdom of the 
sage, and when he could have no inducement tor act from any 
impulse of popularity. All these qualifications particularly 
recommended him for the present emergency, and as his name 
seemed to be the demand of the people, as it appeared to come 
up from the very heart of the masses, even those who person- 
ally preferred other eminent statesmen, sacrificed their wishes 
to the people's choice. 

In this connection it is proper to refer to Mr. Buchanan's 
action in this matter. We can assert upon the best authority 
that from the very first to the last Mr. Buchanan has utterly 
refused to do anything whatever, either by word or deed, 
request or suggestion, in order to procure the nomination for 
the Presidency. Could every private letter he has penned to 
his most intimate friends be laid before the public, all would be 
firmly convinced that James Buchanan has had no agency in 
urging in any way his own nomination. He -proudly abstained 
from even expressing any desire for its accomplishment. In truth 
he knew too much of the anxieties and difficulties of public sta- 
tions, and had gone beyond that period of life when ambition 
may tempt men " to rush in where angels fear to tread." He 
had long been deliberately convinced that the Presidency was 
above all others an office which should not become an object 
for the scramble of public men. What action there was in his 
favor was the spontaneous moving of the people in their pri- 
mary organizations. 

Such was the state of affairs when the Democratic National 
Convention met at Cincinnati on the 2d day of June. It is 
unnecessary to go into the details of that meeting. It was the 
only pohtical convention held this year composed of men from 
every State and District in this broad Union. It was a noble, 
a grand, a sublime sight. In the midst of the controversies of 
their opponents, divided and sub-divided into antagonistic 
organizations, some so sectional in their ideas that they would 



HIS NOMINATION AT CINCINNATI. 405 

make war upon even the immortal Washiiifrton wore ho now 
alive, here was a body of men comin;:; up fniin every town nn<l 
hamlet in our glorious confederacy, and harmonionsly working 
together for their country's good. There has seldom, if ever, 
met at any National Convention a body of such good and true 
men, and who felt so fully the responsiI)ilities of their positions. 
Tiiis is attested by reliable and worthy persons, who were present, 
and who noted the fact of so much order, sobriety and dignity, 
considering the immense crowd and the usual circumstances of 
excitement attending such a convention. In stating the result 
of this convention it is only necessary to say that Mr. Buchanan 
was unanimously nominated on the seventeenth ballot, amid the 
most tumultuous cheering. As the news spread, the booming of 
cannon caught up the expiring cheers and prolonged the sound, 
until from the North to the South, from the East to the West 
the joyful responses had been received that James Buchanan 
was as unanimously accepted by the party, as he had been by 
the convention. 

As it may often be necessary to refer to this volume during 
the campaign, we give below the platform of the National 
Democratic party as adopted at Cincinnati : 

PLATFORif OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC COKVENTION', 1S56. 

" Resolved, That the American democracy place their trust 
in the intelligence, the patriotism and the discriminating justice 
of the American people. 

" Resolved, That we regard this as a distinctive feature of 
political creed, which we arc proud to maintain before the world 
as the great moral element in a form of government springing 
from and upheld by the popular will ; and we contrast it witli 
the creed and practice of federalism, under whatever name or 
form, which seeks to palsy the will of the constituent, and 
which conceives no imposture too monstrous for the popular 
credulity. 



4-08 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN'. 

" Jxe:nLved, therefore, That entertaining these views, the 
democratic party of this Union, through their delegates assem- 
bled in a general convention, coming together in a spirit of 
concord, of devotion to the doctrines and faith of a free repre- 
sented government, and appealing to their fellow citizens for 
the rectitude of their intentions, renew and re-as&ert before the 
American people, the declarations of the principles avowed 
by them when, on former occasions, in general convention, 
they have presented their candidate for the popular suffra- 
ges. 

" 1. That the federal government is one of limited power, 
derived solely from the Constitution ; and the grants of power 
made therein ought to be strictly construed by all the depart- 
ments and agents of the government ; and that it is inexpedient 
and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers. 

" 2. That the Constitution does not confer npon the general 
government the power to commence and carry on a general 
system of internal improvement. 

" 3. That the Constitution does not confer authoricy upon the 
federal government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts 
of the several States, contracted for local and internal improve- 
ments, or other State purposes ; nor would such assumption bo 
just or expedient, 

" 4. That justice and sound policy forbid the federal govern- 
ment to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of any 
other, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury 
of another portion of our common country ; that every citizen 
and every section of the country has a right to demand and 
insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete 
and ample protection of persons and property from domestic 
violence or foreign aggression. 

" 5. That it is the- duty of every branch of the government 
to enforce and practise the most rigid economy in conducting 
our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised 
than is required to defray the. necessary expenses of the gov(jvQ, 



THE NATIONAL PEMOCKATIC PLATFOKM. 407 

mcnt, and for the gradual, nut certain extinction of the j»nl»lic 
debt. 

" 6. That the proceeds of the pnbhc lands oucjht to be sacredly 
applied to tiis national olyects specified in the Constitution ; and 
that we are opposed to any law for the distribution of such pro- 
ceeds among the States, as alike inexpedient in policy and 
rcpuguant to the Constitution. 

" T. That Congress has no power to charter a national V»ank ; 
that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to 
the best interests of the country, dangerous to our republican 
institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to 
place the business of the country within the control of a concen- 
trated money power, and above the laws and the will of the 
people ; and that the results of democratic legislation in thi5 
and all other financial measures upon which issues have been 
made between the two political parties of the country, have 
demonstrated to candid and practical men of all parties, their 
soundness, safety, and utility, in all business pursuits. 

" 8. That the separation of the moneys of the government 
from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of 
the funds of the government and the rights of the people. 

" 9. That we arc decidedly opposed to taking from the Pre- 
sident the qualified veto power, by which he is enabled, under 
restrictions and responsibilities amply sufficient to guard the 
public interests, to suspend the passage of a l)ill whose merits 
cannot secure the approval of two thirds of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, until the judgment of the people 
can be obtained thereon, and which saved the American people 
from the corrupt and tyrannical domination of the Bank of the 
United States, and from a corrupting system of general iiit.riud 
improvements. 

" 10. That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in the 
Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the Conslim- 
tion, which makes ours the land of liberty, and the asyluu) of 
the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal princi. 



408 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES liUCHAKAN. 

pies in the democratic faith, and every attempt to abridge the 
privilege of becoming citizens and the owners of soil among us, 
ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the alien 
and sedition laws from our statute bool>« 

" And whereas, Since the foregoing declaration was uniformly 
adopted by our predecessors in national conventions, an adverse 
political and religious test has been secretly organized by a 
party claiming to be exclusively American, it is proper that the 
American democracy should clearly define its relations thereto, 
and declare its determined opposition to all secret poUtical soci- 
eties by whatever name they may be called. 

" Resolved, That the foundation of this union of States hav- 
ing been laid in, and its prosperity, expansion and pre-eminent 
example in free govei'nment, built upon entire freedom in mat- 
ters of religious concernment, and no respect of person in regard 
to rank or place of birth ; no party can justly be deemed 
national, constitutional, or in accordance with American princi- 
ples, which bases its exclusive organization upon religious 
opinions and accidental birth-place. And hence a political 
crusade in the nineteenth century, and in the United States of 
America, against catholics and foreign born, is neither justified 
by the past history or the future prospects of the country, nor 
in unison with the spirit of toleration and enlarged freedom 
which pecuUarly distinguishes the American system of popular 
government. 

" Resolved, That we reiterate v/ith renewed energy of pur- 
pose, the well-considered declarations of former conventions 
upon the sectional issue of domestic slavery, and concerning the 
reserved rights of the States : 

" 1. That Congress has no power under the Constitution to 
interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several 
States, and that such States are the sole and proper judges of 
everything appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by 
the Constitution ; that all efforts of the Abontionists or others, 
made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery 



THE NATIONAL DEMOCKATIC rr.ATFORM. 409 

o~ to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to 
lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences ; and 
that all sucli efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the 
happiness of the people, and endanger the stability and per- 
manency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by 
any friend of our political institutions. 

" 2. That the foregoing proposition covers, and was intended 
to embrace the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress ; 
and therefore, the democratic party of the Union, standing on 
this national platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful 
execution of the acts known as the Compromise Measures, settled 
by the Congress of 1850 ; ' the act of reclaiming fugitives from 
service or labor,' included ; which act being designed to carry 
out an express provision of the Constitution, cannot with fidelity 
thereto be repealed, or so changed as to destroy or impair its 
efficiency. 

" 3. That the democratic party will resist all attempts at 
renewing, in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the slavery 
question, under whatever shape or color the attempt may be 
made. 

" 4. That the democratic party will faithfully abide by and 
uphold the principles laid down in the Kentucky and Virginip 
resolutions of 1798, and in the report of Mr. Madison to the 
Virginia Legislature in 1799 ; that it adopts those principles as 
constituting one of the main foundations of its political creed, 
and is resolved to carry them out in their obvious meaning and 
import. 

" And that we may more distinctly meet the issue on which 
a sectional party, subsisting exclusively ou slavery agitation, 
now relies to test the fidelity of the people, North and South, 
to the Constitution and the Union — 

" Resolved, That claiming fellowship with, and desiring tho 
co-operation of all who regard the preservation of the Union 
under the Constitution as the paramount issue— and repudiating 
aU sectional parties and platforms conccruing domestic slavery 

18 



410 LTFTC AN'^n RERVIOES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

which seek to embroil the States and incite to treason and 
armed resistance to law in the territories ; and wh ^se avowed 
pm'poses, if consummated, must end in civil war und disunion — 
the American democracy recognize and adopt the principles 
contained in the organic laws, establishing the territories of 
Kansas and Nebraska, as embodying the only sound and safe 
solution of the ' slavery question ' upon which the great 
national idea of the people of this whole country can repose in 
its determined conservatism of the Union — non-interference ly 
Congress ivith slavery m IState and Territory, or in the District 
of Columbia. 

" 2. That this was the basis of the compromises of 1850 — 
confirmed by both the Democratic and Whig parties in national 
conventions — ratified by the people in the election of 1852— 
and rightly applied to the organization of territories in 1854 

" 3. That by the uniform application of this democratic prin- 
ciple to the organization of Territories, and the admission of 
new States, with or without domestic slavery, as they may 
elect — the equal rights of all the States will be preserved 
intact — the original compacts of the Constitution maintained 
inviolate — and the perpetuity and expansion of this Union 
insured to its utmost capacity of embracing, in peace and har- 
mony, every future American State that may be constituted or 
annexed, with a republican form of government. 

" Resolved, That we recognize the right of the people of all 
the Territories, including Kansas and Nebraska, acting through 
the legally and fairly expressed will of a majority of actuaj 
residents ; and whenever the number of their inhabitants justifies 
it, to form a Constitution, with or "without domestic slavery, 
and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality 
with the other States. 

" Resolved, finally. That in view of the condition of popular 
institutions in the Old World (and tho dangerous tendencies of 
sectional agitation, combined with the attempt to enforce civil 
and religious disabilities against the rights of acquhing and 



THE NATIONAL DKMOCRA'nC PLATFORM. 411 

enjoying citizenship in our own land) — a high and sacred duty 
is devolved with increased responsibility upon the democratic 
party of this country, as the party of the Union, to uphold and 
maintain the rights of every State, and thercl)y the Union of 
the States ; and to sustain and advance among us Consti- 
tutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and 
exclusive legislation for tlie benefit of the few at the expense of 
the many, and by a vigilant and constant adherence to those 
principles and compromises of the Constitution, which are broad 
enough and strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union as 
it was, the Union as it is, and the Union as it shall be, iu the 
full expansion of the energies and capacity of this groat and 
progressive people. 

" [All of the above was adopted unanimously by the Con- 
vention.] 

" 1. Jxesoh-ed, That there are questions connected with the 
foreign policy of this country, which are inferior to no domestic 
question whatever. The time has come for the people of the 
United States to declare themselves in favor of free seas and 
progressive free trade throughout the world, and, by solemn 
manifestations, to place their moral hifluencc at the side of 
their successful example. 

" [Adopted, 234 to 26. Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, and 
North Carolina voted no.] 

" 2. Resolved, That our geographical and political position 
with reference to the other States of this continent, no less tliaa 
the interests of our commerce and the development of our grow- 
ing power, requires that we should hold as sacred the i)rincl- 
ples involved in the Monroe doctrine ; tlicir bearing and import 
admit of no misconstruction ; they should be applied with 
unbending rigidity. 

" [Adopted, 239 to 23.] 

" 3. Resolved, That the great highway which nature, a., wed 
as the assent of the States most immediately interested in its 
maintenance, has marked out for a free commnmcation between 



412 LIFE AND SEKVICES OF JAMES BUCHAJiTAIT. 

the Atlantic aud Pacific oceans, constitutes one of the most im- 
portant achievements realized by the spirit of modern times, 
and the unconquerable energy of our people. That result 
should be secured by a timely and efficient exertion of the con- 
trol which we have the right to claim over it, and no power on 
earth should be suffered to impede or clog its progress by any 
interference with the relations it may suit our policy to establish 
between our government and the governments of the States 
within whose dominions it lies. We can, under no circum- 
stances, surrender our preponderance in the adjustment of all 
questions arising out of it. 

[Adopted, 199 to 56. Maine 1, Connecticut 2, Virginia, 
Maryland, and Rhode Island formed the principal nays.] 

" 4. That in view of so commanding an interest, the people of 
the United States cannot but sympathize with the efforts which 
are being made by the people of Central America to regenerate 
that portion of the continent which covers the passage across 
the interoceanic Isthmus. 

[Adopted, 221 to 38. Ehode Island, Delaware, Maryland, 
South Carolina, and Kentucky voted nay.] 

"5. Resolved, That the democratic party will expect of the 
next administration that every proper effort be made to insure 
our ascendency in the Gulf of Mexico, and to maintain a per- 
manent protection to the great outlets through which are 
emptied into its waters the products raised out of the soil, and 
the commodities created by the industry of the people of our 
Western valleys, and of the Union at large. 

[Adopted, 229 to 30 — last nearly as on previous one.] 

" A resolution was introduced and passed, though not 
adopted as a part of the platform, declaring it to be the duty 
of the general government, so far as the Constitution will per- 
mit, to aid in the construction of a safe overland route between 
the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts." 

A committee was appointed to wait upon Mr. Buchanan and 



LE'ITKU OF NOinjTATING COMMHTKIC. 413 

inform liim otricially of liis nomination. These fjenllcmon repaired 
personally to Lancaster, and there presented to Mr. linehunun 
the following letter • 

" Lascaster, June IS, ISM. 

" Sir : The National Convention of the democratic jtarty, 
which assembled at Cincinnati on the first ^Monday in June, 
unanimously nominated you as a candidate for the office of 
President of the United States. 

" We have been directed by the convention to convey to you 
this intelligence, and to request you, in their name, to accept 
the nomination for the exalted trust which the chief magistracy 
of the Union imposes. 

" The convention, founding their action upon the time- 
honored principles of the democratic party, have announced 
their views in relation to the chief questions which engage the 
public mind ; and, while adhering to the truths of tlie past, 
have manifested the policy of the present in a scries of reso- 
lutions, to which we invoke your attention. 

" The convention feel assured, in tendering to you this signal 
proof of the respect and esteem of your countrymen, that they 
truly reflect the opinion which the people of the United States 
entertain of your eminent character and distinguished public 
services. They cherish a profound conviction that your ele- 
vation to the first office in the Republic will give a moral 
guarantee to the country that the true princifjlcs of the Cun- 
stitution will be asserted and maintained ; that the pul)lic tran- 
quillity will be established ; that the tumults of factions will ho 
stilled ; that our domestic industry will flourish ; that our for- 
eign affairs will be conducted with such wisdom and firmness 
as to assure the prosperity of the people at home, while tho 
interests and honor of our country are wisely but inflexilily 
maintained in our intercourse with other nations ; and, espe- 
cially, that your pul)lic experience and the confidence of your 
countrymen will enable you to give efl'cct to democratic prin- 



414 LIFE AND SEKVICE8 OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

ciples, so as to render indissoluble the strong bonds of mutual 
interest and national glory whicn unite our confederacy and 
secure the prosperity of our people. 

" While we offer to the country our sincere congratulations 
upon the fortunate auspices of the future, we tender to you, 
personally, the assurances of the respect and esteem of your 
fellow-citizens, 

" Jonx E. Ward, 
" W. A. Richardson, 
" Harry Hibbard, 
" W. B. Lawrence, 
" A. G. Brown, 
" Jno. L. ^Manning, 
" John Forsyth, 
" W. Preston, 
" J. Randolph Tucker, 
" Horatio Seymour 
" Hon. jAJiiEs Buchanan. 

The reply of Mr. Buchanan is characterized with his usual 
frankness and clearness, and places in a prominent light all the 
established traits of his character. 

Wheatlasd (near Lancaster), June 16, 1S56. 

" Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your communication of the 13th instant, informing me offi- 
cially of my nomination by the Democratic National Conven- 
tion, recently held at Cincinnati, as the democratic candidate 
for the ofi&ce of President of the United States. I shall not 
attempt to express the grateful feelings which I entertain to- 
wards my democratic fellow-citizens for having deemed me 
worthy of this, the highest political honor on earth — an honor 
such as the people of no other country have the power to be- 
stow. Deeply sensible of the vast and varied responsibility 
attached to the station, especially at the present crisis of our 



niS KEI'LY. 4 15 

toffiiirs, I have carefully refrained from seekiiif^ the nominatioa 
either by word or by deed. Now that it has been (ifTored by the 
democratic party, I accept it with ditridence in my own abili- 
ties, but with an humble trust that, in the event of my election, 
I may be enabled to discharj^e my duty in such a manner as 
to allay domestic strife, preserve peace and friendship with 
foreign nations, and promote the best interests of the repul> 
lie. 

" la accepting tlie nomination, I need scarcely say that I 
accept in the same spirit the resolutions constituting the plat- 
form of principles erected by the convention. To this platform 
I intend to confine myself throughout the canvass, believing 
that I have no right, as the candidate of the democratic party, 
by answering interrogatories, to present new and different 
issues before the people. 

" It will not be expected that in this answer I should spe- 
cially refer to the subject of each of the resolutions, and I .shall, 
therefore, confine myself to the two topics now most promi- 
nently before the peo})le. 

" And, in the first place, I cordially concur in the sentiments 
expressed by the convention on the subject of civil and reli- 
gious liberty. No party founded on religious or political 
intolerance towards one class of American citizens, whether 
born in our own or in a foreign land, can long continue to c.v- 
ist in this country. We are all equal betore God and the 
Constitution ; and the dark spirit of despotism and bigotry 
which would create odious distil ctions among our fellow-citi- 
Ecna will be speedily rebuked by it free and enlightened pul>lic 
opinion. 

" The agitation of the question of domestic slavery has too 
long distracted and divided the people of this Union and ulii-n- 
ated their affections from each other. This agitatioii 
assumed many forms since its commencement, but it now - 
to be directed chiefly to the territories ; and, judging from its 
present character, I think we may safely anticipate that it i« 



416 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAJS". 

rapidly approaching a ' finality.' The recent legislation of 
Congress respecting domestic slavery, derived, as it has been, 
from the original and pure fountain of legitimate political 
power, the will of the majority, promises ere long to allay the 
dangerous excitement. This legislation is founded upon princi- 
ples as ancient as free government itself, and, in accordance 
with them, has simply declared that the people of a territory, 
hke those of a State, shall decide for themselves whether 
slavery shall or shall not exist within their limits. 

" The Nebraska-Kansas act does no more than give the 
force of law to this elementary princii^le of self-government, 
declaring it to be ' the true intent and meaning of this act 
not to legislate slavery into any Territory or State, nor te 
exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly 
free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their 
own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United 
States." This principle will surely not be controverted hr 
any individual of any party professing devotion to populai 
government. Besides, how vain and illusory would any othei 
principle prove in practice in regard to the Territories I 
This is apparent from the fact admitted by all, that, after a 
Territory shall have entered the Union and become a State, no 
Constitutional power would then exist which could prevent it 
from either abolishing or establishing slavery, as the case may 
be, according to its sovereign will and pleasure. 

"Most happy would it be for the country if this long agi- 
tation were at an end. During its whole progress it has pro- 
duced no practical good to any human being, whilst it has been 
the source of great and dangerous evils. It has alienated and 
estranged one portion of the Union from the otlier, and has even 
seriously threatened its very existence. To my own personal 
knowledge, it has produced the impression among foreign nations 
that our great and glorious confederacy is in constant danger 
of dissolution. This does us serious injury, because acknow- 
ledged power and stability alw^ays command respect among 



niS KEPLY. 417 

nations, and are among the best securities against nnjast 
aggression, and in favor of the maintenance of honorable iwace. 

"May we not hope that it is the mission of the denux-ratic 
party, now tlie only surviving conservative party of the country, 
ere long to overthrow all sectional parties, and restore the 
peace, friendship, and mutual confidence which prevailed in the 
good old time among the different members of the confederacy ? 
Its character is strictly national, and it therefore asserts no 
principle for the guidance of the federal government which is 
not adopted and sustained by its members in each and every 
State. For this reason it is the same determined foe of all 
geographical parties, so much and so justly dreaded by the 
Father of his Country. From its very nature it must continue 
to exist so long as there is a Constitution and a Union to pre- 
serve. A conviction of these truths has induced many of the 
purest, the ablest, and most independent of our former oppo- 
nents, who have differed from us in times gone by upon old 
and extinct party issues, to come into our ranks and devote 
themselves with us to the cause of the Constitution and the 
Union. Under these circumstances, I most cheerfully pledge 
myself, should the nomination of the convention be ratified by 
the people, that all the power and influence Constitutionally 
possessed by the Executive shall be exerted, in a firm but cuu- 
ciliatory spirit, during the smgle term I shall remain in oQice, 
to restore the same harmony among the sister States which 
prevailed before this apple of discord, in the form of slavery 
agitation, had been cast into their midst. Let the members of 
tlie family abstain from intermeddling with the exclusive dumt-s- 
tic concerns of each other, and cordially unite on the basis of 
perfect equality among themselves, iu promoting the great 
national objects of common interest to all, and the good work 
will be instantly accomplished. 

" In regard to our foreign policy, to which you have rcfci^ 
red in your communication, it is quite impossible for a^y human 
fore-knowledge to prescribe positive rales in advance to regulate 

18* 



418 LIFE AND 6ERVICES OF JAilES EUCHAI^AN. 

the conduct of a future administration in all the exigencies 
which may arise in our various and ever-changing relations 
with foreign powers. The federal government must, of neces- 
sity, exercise a sound discretion in dealing with international 
questions as they may occur ; but this under the strict resjiou- 
fiibility which the executive must always feel to the people of 
the United States, and the judgment of posterity. You will, 
therefore, excuse me for not entering into particulars ; wdiilst 
I heartily concur with you in the general sentiment, that our 
foreign affairs ought to be conducted with such wisdom and 
firmness, as to assure the prosperity of the people at home, 
whilst the interests and honor of our country are wisely, 
but inflexibly, maintained abroad. Our foreign policy ought 
ever to be based upon the principle of doing justice to all 
nations, and requiring justice from them in return ; and from 
this principle I shall never depart. 

" Should I be placed in the executive chair, I shall use my 
best exertions to cultivate peace and friendship with all nations, 
beheving this to be our highest policy, as well as our most 
imperative duty ; but, at the same time, I shall never forget 
that in case the necessity should arise, which I do not now 
apprehend, our national rights and national honor must be pre- 
served at all hazards and at any sacrifice. 

" Firmly convinced that a special Providence governs the 
affairs of nations, let us humbly implore His continued bless- 
ing upon our country, and that He may avert from us the 
punishment we justly deserve for being discontented and un- 
grateful while enjoying privileges above all nations, under such 
a constitution and such a Union as has never been vouchsafed 
to any other people. 

" Yours, very respectfully, 

"James Buchanan." 

Hon. JoHX E. Ward, W. A. Richardson, Harry Hibbard, W. B. Law- 
rence, A. G. Browx, John L. Manning, John Forsyth, W. Preston, 
J. Randolph Tucker, and Horatio Seymour, Committee, &c. 



AT noAiE. 41 y 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Mr. Buchanan at IXome. 

IIatixg ill the preceding cliapters giveu a brief review of 
some of the more promiiieut events in Mr. Buchanan's life, aa 
well as the more important of his manj public services, it is no 
more than right to close this volume with some reference to 
his personal character. To a certain extent the private rela- 
tions of any man who is presented to the people of the United 
States to receive their suffrages for the highest ofGce in their 
gift, is a fair and proper subject of inquiry. " Upon private 
integrity," said the illustrious AVashington, "rests all the safe- 
guards of public virtue." The people have, therefore, undoubt- 
edly the right to inquire whether the candidate before thera 
possess those qualities both of mind and heart, which will con- 
fer honor even upon the exalted ofGce to which he may bo 
elected, and give, at the same time, a guarantee that public 
truth will flow legitimately from private integrity. It is no 
exaggeration to say, that Mr. Buchanan is a model of all that 
is praiseworthy or admirable in the character of a public man 
His has been a life of thorough discipline, of rigid and careful 
culture, and, guided by those simple methodical habits, which 
were imbibed in early life, at the feet of a devoted mother, it is 
not surprising that they have been the foundation of a chirao 
ter at once graceful in its parts aud syiuiuetrical in its com- 
plete proportions. 

One of the strongest traits in Mr. Buchanau's j-crsoiml life, 
'a thp. hold he has upon the affections of tho people a.nong 



420 LIFE AND 8EKVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

whom lie resides. His political enemies have represented him 
as cold and distant in his manners. There never was a more 
unfounded statement. The writer of this has been among his 
friends and neighbors, and conversed unreservedly with all ho 
met, and the universal voice was that for genial, and warm- 
hearted friendship he has no equal. This feeling is not con- 
fined to any class of the population, but all, rich and poor, 
unite in the same expression. In one respect, perhaps, Mr. 
Buchanan may not meet the expectations of some. He is not 
of that facile, ever-changing mould, capable of adapting him- 
self to any and every individual he meets, and conquering their 
friendship by addressing their vanity. To such persons, friend- 
ship is but a name. To individuals like Mr. Buchanan, it is 
an affection founded upon an acquaintance which ripens into 
confidence. All who meet him are at once convinced of the 
kindness of his disposition, and the sincerity of his heart. There 
is an entire absence of display, no ostentation or formality ; but 
accustomed to mingle freely with all classes of society, he in- 
stinctively rejects everything that looks like pride or fashion. 

In this respect, he is an index of the people among whom 
he resides. Probably there is no agricultural population of 
equal wealth in our country which has retained so many habits 
of rural simplicity, as that of the county of Lancaster, in Penn- 
sylvania. It has resisted with success the follies of fashionable 
life which naturally radiate from our large seaboard towns, and 
in the whole city of Lancaster, a place of some seventeen 
thousand inhabitants, there is less fashion and display to be 
found than in one small New England village. The church 
of the Presbyterian denomination, which Mr. Buchanan regularly 
attends, is a structure so hmited in size, and so plain and 
unpretending in appear .nee, that it would shock the sensibiU- 
ties of the majority of metropolitan church goers. 

Mr. Buchanan's equanimity of mind is one of the most 
admirable, as it is one of the most prominent, features of hig 
eLaracter. His natural disposition is exceedingly buoyant, and 



AT IIOML'. 421 

as years have gradually crept over him, silvering his loeks with 
the frosts of age, the original tendency of his mind has not 
been perverted, only modified, and at this day he presents that 
joyous spectacle where the freshness of youth is united to the 
calmness and maturity of age. It is believed there is nc 
instance during the whole course of Mr. Buchanan's j)ublic lif'j 
where his equanimity of temper was seriously disturlnd At 
all times and under all circumstauces, he has been enabled to 
bring to the consideration of questions a mind free from that 
species of insanity, where passion usurps the jilacc of reason. 
It has been noted with what dignity he repelled the outrageous 
attack made upon him by John Davis of Massachu.sctts. Few- 
men would have borne themselves through such a provoking 
assault, without losing that command of their temper which o 
proper respect for one's place and position requires, but which 
it is almost impossible, under great provocation, to exercise. 
Upon another occasion Mr. Clay indulged, in the course of 
some remarks, in a reference to the charge of " low wages " in 
such a manner as to cast a reflection upon Mr. Buchanan 
When he had concluded Mr. Buchanan rose with his usual 
dignity and deliberation and said, " he had listened with his 
usual gratification to the reply of the distinguished senator 
from Kentucky, with the exception of a single remark. I refer 
to his allusion to the electioneering slang of the late contest on 
the subject of low wages. That remark was wholly unworthy 
of that senator, and I intend to answer it as it deserves." 

Mr. Clay observing that Mr. Buchanan had taken his remark 
in a serious manner, interrupted him and begged to be poruiit- 
ted to explain. He expressly disclaimed any offensive i)uriK).';c 
in his remark, and declared " that it was meant only as a 
playful allusion and not intended to wound the feelings of the 
senator in the least." Mr. Buchanan replied, " I am entirely 
satisfied and am glad we arc friends again." This di.'^avowal 
on the part of Uv. Clay of any respect for the charge of John 
Davis, as a serious one against Mr. Buchanan, was eiactly in 



422 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAITAN. 

accordance with Mr Clay's well known generosity of character, 
and should shame all at the present day who have the hardi- 
hood to revive the exploited slander. It is by such evenness of 
temper and entire self-possession as we have referred to in the 
foregoing instances, that Mr. Buchanan has been enabled to 
pass a long public life without, it is believed, having a single 
personal enemy among his political opponents. 

The equanimity of Mr. Buchanan's temper is only equalled 
by the generosity of his disposition. Did it not seem like 
parading before the public, deeds whose sincere benevolence has 
made them almost sacred, we might specify numerous instances 
where his unostentatious charity has been conspicuous. Such 
a course, we feel confident, would be as distasteful to him as it 
might seem obtrusive to the public. 

" The secret pleasure of a generous act 
Is the great mind's great bribe." 

To show, however, what his neighbors think of him in this res- 
pect, we give the following quotation from a newspaper publislied 
in the place of his residence, and coming as it does from a political 
opponent, and since his nomination for the presidency, it cannot 
be suspected of any partiality. The editor says : 

" We knew Mr. Buchanan as one of our most respected 
fellow citizens — a gentleman of unblemished personal integrity, 
and unusually agreeable manners in his social intercourse with 
all classes. We knew him as a friend of the poor — as a 
perpetual benefactor of the poor widows of this city, who, 
when the piercing blasts of each successive winter brought 
fihrieks of cold, and hunger, and want, in the frail tenements 
of Poverty, could apply to the 'Buchanan Eclicf Donation' for 
their annual supply of wood, and sitting down with theu* 
orphaned children in the cheerful warmth of a blazing fire, lift 
their hearts in silent gratitude to God, and teach their littly 
ones to bless the name of James Buchanan. As a citizen, a 



AT IIOM.E. .123 

ucigLbor, a friend — ia a word, as simply- James IJucliunaii, wo 
yielded to no man in the measure of our respect and esteem." 

The " Bucluinan Relief Donation " referred to, consists of a 
fund of several thousand dollars invested by him a number of 
3 cars t^ince, for purposes indicated in the foregoing extract. If, 
a«- Byron asserts, 

"The drying up a single tear has more 
Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore," 

then most assuredly has Mr. Buchanan attained it. 

The following extract from a private letter from a gentleman 
at Washington, written since the nomination, gives such a 
j;raphic picture of Mr. Buchanan at home, that we make no 
jwDology for introducing it here : 

" While at Lancaster, on professional business, I called at his 
residence, a mile and a half from the city, to see Mr. Buchanan, 
with whom I had been somewhat acquainted from his entrance 
into the U. S. Senate, in 1835. I found him at Wheuthmd, 
once a large farm noted for its yield of the cereal which con- 
ferred its name, now by subdivisions in passing through several 
generations, reduced to some thirty acres, lie occupies an 
ancient, but spacious, brick dwelling surrounded by a beautiful 
grove, planted by an early owner. The cultivation is limited 
to a large garden and a few acres of wheat and oafs, while a 
cow is in full possession of the most beautiful hickory grove I 
ever saw. I found Mr. B. in his library, the largest room in 
his house, which is well filled with books, and very neatly and 
appropriately fitted up with furniture of Pennsylvania oak. He 
receives his company with a courtesy and simplicity that make 
every one feel at his ease, though he never appears undignified. 
His conversation has a peculiar charm, because he uses, a-s Mr. 
Calhou-n did, common and plain language to communicate his 
thoughts. He never confounds you with language, or words 



42i LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

you do not understand, nor does he attempt to dazzle by strik- 
ing expressions or applying pungent epithets. His, is the clear 
explicit language of every day life, and which is most befitting 
all stations. 

" Everything about him indicated that he loves order and 
quiet, and that the tendency of his mind is in favor of utility. 
There is nothing gaudy or frivolous to be found in his house. 
Its furniture is plain, substantial, and appropriate to its place 
and uses. His affection for his friends is manifested in all 
parts of his house. I was much gratified in finding iu his 
library a likeness of the late Vice-President King, whom he 
loved (and who did not ?j He declared that he was the purest 
public man that he ever knew, and that durmg his intimate 
acquaintance of thirty years he had never known him to perform 
a selfish act. Mr. B.'s tastes are of the most simple kind, and 
he lives, like his neighbors, without attempting foolish osten- 
tation or wearisome display. His uuiform frugality has crowned 
his latter years with a hberal competence, never contaminated 
by parsimony. Poverty and affliction never solicited of him in 
vain. He has always been liberal and charitable. He is now 
about sixty-five years of age and has never married. His family 
consists of himself and niece, whose education has been mainly 
under his direction, and who accompanied him during his late 
mission to England, and whose knowledge and sense, derived 
from books, study and reflection, peculiarly qualify her to grace 
and cheer the fireside of the Sage of Wheatland. 

" Mr. Buchanan is very frank with his friends, and is always 
ready to avail himself of their suggestions, when appropriate. 
I was much struck with the attachment of his old neighbors 
and friends,-and indeed of all Pennsylvanians, to him person- 
ally. I saw no man in Lancaster, who was not his devoted 
friend. You would be surprised to learn the large number who 
voluntarily tell you of his numerous acts of kindness to them, 
or their parents, relatives or neighbors. His old clients are 
universally attached to him, and many speak of his gratuitous 



AT noiiE. 425 

professional services, in Gghting the battles of the poor. A 
stranger ■n-ould suppose that the entire population were hi.s 
friends. During a stay of two days, at bis house, I found him 
thronged with company, from early morning till a late hour in 
the evening, who came to congratulate him upon his safe return 
from Europe, and triumphant nomination. The numerous calls 
from the Pennsylvania farmers seemed to afford hira great 
pleasure. There was an earnest sincerity manifested by thoni, 
that touched the heart. This deep feeling of attachment was 
strikingly illustrated when I was present. A Kentucky drover 
had been to Philadelphia, and sold his cattle to a city dealer. 
When the business was closed, the latter came with the former 
to Lancaster, a distance of seventy miles, apparently fur the 
sole purpose of congratulating Mr. Buchanan, and introducing 
his western friend. I was told of other as striking instances of 
attachment. 

" I saw many prominent whigs at his house, and others on 
the way, who openly avowed their intention to vote for Mr. 
Buchanan. The reasons for so doing, were, either personal at- 
tachment, or an avowed strong desire to repress all agitation 
and action tending to disunion, and a wish to restore national 
harmony and quiet. They seemed to be confident that lii.s elec- 
tion would produce this desirable result. Some referred to our 
foreign affairs, and expressed the opinion that his experience, 
wisdom and prudence would keep them from falling into con- 
fusion, or resulting in contention or stain upon national honor. 

" Mr. Buchanan is a large, muscular man, who enjoys the 
most perfect health, and is capable of enduring a.s much labor 
as a young man. During the time I was with him, I heard of 
no subject of conversation, with which he was not familiar. lie 
was early distinguished as a sound lawyer. Ten years' service 
in the House, and ten in the Senate, made hira familiar with 
the legislation and policy of the country. Three yeara service 
in Russia and three years in England, as Minister, and four in 
the State department, as Secretary, made bim more familiar 



4:26 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

witli our foreign relations than any other living man. From 
this you will readily believe that it is a treat to converse with 
him on diplomatic as well as other subjects, and that those who 
spend much time with him, depart greatly wiser than .they 
came He instructs without making one feel that he does so, 
and you regret when he is called off from the sulyect in hand. 
Had the state of my own business permitted, I should have 
been but too happy to have enjoyed his hospitality and society 
for a much longer period and to have profited by conversation 
with one so well qualified to impart wisdom and knowledge. 

" Like General Jackson, he seems to have nothing to con- 
ceal. He remarked, that the time was when he was anxious to 
be elected President, but years, and the loss of those who had 
served long with him in public life, and who would have ren- 
dered him the needed support, had changed his feelings upon 
the subject. He had now been made a candidate without an 
etfort of his own, and he felt bound to submit to the wishes of 
his friends, and therefore consented to become the representa- 
tive of their principles and wishes. When referring to the fact 
that all who entered public life with him had left the stage, and 
he was left alone, he seemed deeply affected. A new genera- 
tion had S]3rung up around him, to many of whom he was much 
attached, but they had not been his companions in arms in the 
pohtical conflicts of his early life. But the sons of his early 
friends had demanded his services, and he had no right to 
refuse. He inquired, with emphasis, ' why should I, after forty 
years spent in the turmoil and excitement of public life, wish to 
leave my quiet home, and assume the responsibilities and cares 
incident to the presidency ? A sense of duty alone has induced 
me to accept the nomination. They tell me that the use of my 
name will still the agitated waters, restore public harmony, by 
banishing sectionalism, and remove all apprehension of disunion. 
For these objects' I would not only surrender my own ease and 
comfort, but cheerfully lay down my life. Considerations like 
these have imposed upon me the duty of yielding to the wishes 



CONCLUSIOX. 42"/ 

of lbo?'> who must know what the public good requires.' I 
could not doubt he spoke what he strongly felt. It nindc a 
deep impression upon my mind. I shall long remember this 
visit, and whatever may be the future course of his polilicaJ 
fortunes, I shall never cease to admire and venerate the UuioQ- 
loving sage of Wheatland." 

Such is the man now presented to the American people for 
their suffrages. In the sunset of an honorable life, with hi.s 
eye yet undimmed, and his natural force imabated, he i.s 
brought forward by the spontaneous voice of his countrymen. 
Said the great Edmund Burke, " When bad men combine, good 
men should unite ;" and without stopping to inquire whether 
those who have combined on sectional issues are bad or not, 
certainly their success can only add fuel to the present flame 
of unholy strife. All good aid rcar,onable men must therefore 
be convinced that the peace, prosperity, and safety of twenty 
millions of the happiest, freest, and most advanced white men, 
with their noble structure of republican government, cemented 
by the blood, the sufferings, and treasures of their ancestors, 
should not be sacrificed — nay, not even jeopardized for the sup- 
posed interests of three millions of the African race, who, 
wliatever may be their present condition, are certainly l)etter 
off than any other three million of their own race of which we 
have any knowledge. 

This Union, with its inestimable blessings, its patriotic asso- 
ciations, its trial of the capacity of man for self-government, is 
so invaluable to the cause of suffering humanity throughout the 
world, that should the American people, with sacrilegious hands, 
tear down this noble temple of liberty, they would deserve, 
as they would undoubtedly receive, the just contempt and f-r*'- 
cration of posterity. To restore peace to our already dist: 

country, to unite once more the bonds of fraternal I. _ 

between all sections, and in the language of the immortal 
Washington, " to frown indignantly upon the first dawning of 



428 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from th«s 
rest," we cannot but believe that an overwhelming majority, 
North as well as South, will insist upon placing in the presi- 
dential chair, the consistent statesman, the pure patriot, and 
the honest man, James Buchanan. 



TIIE rROGRESS OF THE ELKCTIOX. 429 



CnATTER XX y. 

ADDITIOXAL. 

The Proprcss of the Election— The Issues Involved— The Final Result— The Election of 
Mr. Buchanan— The lUjolcings of the Democracy— The Inauguration CcreinoDle»-> 
The Inaugural Address — Sketches of the Cabinet Officers. 

The foregoing chapters were v.-rittcu nnd publislicd in the 
early part of the mouth of July immediately subsequent to 
Mr. Buchanan's nomination for President, and it is a source of 
satisfaction that the confidence felt and exjiressed therein iu 
relation to bis election, have received an emphatic coufirma- 
tioa in the voice of the people of the United States. There 
have been but few presidential elections in the history of our 
government where greater efforts were made by all parties to 
secure the triumph. The democracy entered the conte.'st under 
more than ordinary disadvantages. The repeal of the Mis- 
souri Restriction had been so immediately followed by the 
difficulties iu the territory of Kansas, that it was very plausi- 
ble to charge the responsibility of them solely upon the party 
which had removed it. For this reason the justice or injustice 
of this restriction was, in a great measure, lost sight of, nnd 
ingenious stump orators, oppo.^ing the election of Mr. 
Buchanan, preferred to dwell in pathetic terms upon the 
reputed "outrages "in that territory, rather than to di.scu.'ss 
the right of excluding a portion of their fellow-citizens from 
the common domain of the Union, unlrss they dissolved cer- 
tain social relations with which the Federal Government ho.s 
no right to interfere, much less abolish. The entire non-inter- 
ference by Congress with the status of negroes, or in other 



430 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

words, with the social or legal relations of the white and 
bhick races, whether in State or Territory, was the great and 
principal issue of the late campaign. This, though iu a some- 
what different phraseology, was clearly enunciated in the 
Democratic platform. 

It was perceived, however, in the early part of the canvass, 
that the real issue was to be avoided as much as possible, and 
the "evils of slavery," '-'the wrongs of Kansas," and "the 
aggressions of the South," were to be the principal texts from 
which to preach to the northern people. Two parties entered 
the field as opponents of the Democracy ; one had nominated 
Millard Fillmore, and the other John C. Fremont, as com- 
petitors of Mr. Buchanan. Mr. Fillmore had already served 
as President with honor to himself and with much satisfaction 
to many of his countrymen. He had, however, since the 
close of his official term, adopted the peculiar doctrines of the 
"American" party, and thus alienated from him many of his 
old adherents. Mr. Fremont was, however, a new man upon 
the political field, and with a considerable dash of romance in 
bis life, he attracted even in his personal character more than 
ordinary attention. Supported, too, by powerful and influen- 
tial presses, and receiving the endorsement of many men of 
well-known integrity and ability, it was soon perceived that he 
was destined to be an opponent of no ordinary strength. 

During the early part of the canvass the tide of public 
opinion seemed to be strongly in favor of the so-called Repub- 
lican party throughout all the jS'orthern States. The August 
elections in Maine and Iowa were really disheartening to the 
Democrats. Their opponents were more than usually confi- 
dent, and used almost superhuman exertions to effect the 
election of their candidate. It was soon perceived, however, 
by all who possessed any degree of political sagacity, that the 
State of Pennsylvania, the home of Mr. Buchanan, was to be 
the great, indeed, the decisive battle-ground. Kever before 
had the Democracy of that honored State such immense and 



THE ISSUES INTOLVED. 431 

averwheltniiig questions confided to their decision. Mr. Jef- 
ferson lias somewhere propheticallv observed, " Let Vir^rinia 
stand firm and Peiinsvlvaiiia remain true to tlie Dtinocriify, 
then will our liberties be safe, and our Union perpetnai." The 
remark seemed to have been made with reference to just .«uch 
a contingency as was now presented. At all events, nil 
parties felt that upon the result in Pennsylvania depended tho 
whole issue of the contest, and hence the most extraordinary 
efforts were made to defeat the Democrats at the Octolicr 
election. The friends of "Mv. Fillmore were very stronp in the 
State, while the peculiar principles of " Republicanism " had 
met with but an indifferent reception. A successful effort, 
however, was made to combine both of these parties in the 
support of the same ticket for State officers, and they, there- 
fore, entered the contest flushed with hope and confident of 
victory. Defeats in other quarters had not, however, dis- 
mayed the "uuterrified" democracy. As Virjrinia had jriven 
the first check to Know Nothingism under the lead of the 
gallant Wise, the honor remained for Pennsylvania to stem 
the torrent of abolition delusion, and disunion, with the name 
of her favorite son, James Buchanan, for the rallyinp cry. The 
victory in the one case was no less complete than in the other. 
While there was a dash of chivalry in the first, characteristic 
of the descendants of the Cavaliers, there was also the steady 
intrepidity and cool courage in the latter which ever distin- 
guishes the German element. It is sufficient to say. that 
notwithstanding the union of all parties opposed to tho 
Democracy, their ticket was elected by n handsome ninj<irity of 
nearly three thousand. The result was hailed everywhere 
throughout the Union by Democrats with the most enthanias- 
tic rejoicing. Poets celebrated it in verse, and orator- 
never tired of talking about it on the stump. It reviv 
spirits of the Democracy, and infused new courage into tr.. .r 
wavering lines. It was felt that the crisis, which all had bot-n 
watching with almost breathless anxiety and aiicntioD, bad 



432 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

passed. Patriots breathed freer, and all who felt in any way 
alarmed at the portents of the times were sensibly relieved. 
Prom that moment the battle was decided, for though much 
remained to be done, the democracy marched on afterwards to 
a confident victory. Their opponents felt that there was but 
little chance of defeating Mr. Buchanan. His name had 
proved a tower of strength in Pennsylvania, and scattered 
all the vain imaginations which his opponents had ever con- 
ceived. 

Indiana and Ohio, which also held their State elections at 
the same time, did nobly. In the former State the Hon. A. P. 
Willard had been nominated for Governor, and canvassing the 
State personally, and taking bold and logical ground on the 
prominent questions involved in the canvass, he had rolled up 
a majority at once complimentary to himself and honorable to 
bis State. In Ohio the majority on the State ticket for the 
" Republicans " was much less than they had confidently been 
claiming, while the Democrats had secured no less than eight 
congressmen out of iweuty-one, ia a delegation that had been 
wholly against them. They had also gained five members of 
Congress in Indiana and eleven in Pennsylvania. Thus at one 
stroke, the moral effect of a victory had not only been secured, 
but the next House of P^eprescntatives would be favorable to 
the incoming Democratic President. 

Only two weeks, however, of precious time now remained 
for the Democracy to close up their columns and prepare for 
the final struggle of the fourth of November. If the reverses 
of October had staggered their opponents, they had not dis- 
mayed them or caused them to relax their efi"orts. It was 
indispensably necessary for the Democrats to carry Pennsyl- 
vania, and one other Northern State, even if they secured all 
the Southern ones, in order to elect Mr. Buchanan. It was, 
however, by no means certain that the South would vote 
in an undivided phalanx. Maryland had been looked upon 
from the first as one of the doubtful States, and fears were felt 



THE FINAL RESULT. 433 

of Louisiana and Kentucky. If Maryland should vote for 
Mr. Fillmore then Mr. Buchanan, besides the remaininff 
electoral votes of the South, would require Peni'sylvaiiia and 
Indiana, or in the event of losing the latter, both Now Jersey 
and California, in order to elect him. 

It may be safely said that the Democrats did more active 
work during the two weeks preceding the day of the presi- 
dential election thau for any four or six weeks of any other 
part of the canvass. Everybody who could speak was on the 
stump. Meetings were held every night in the large cities, 
while the country was equally alive with the excitement of the 
strife. The important day at length arrived and the great 
decision was to be made, when, if we use the language of the 
*' Republicans," the question of "freedom " or "slavery" was 
to be settled. On that day over four millions of citizens were 
to exercise the noble, yet natural prerogative of sovereignty, 
and from Maine to Texas, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
from ocean to ocean, and from the great lakes on the north to 
the broad gulfs oa the south, the silent, y.et tremendous ballot 
was 

" To execute a frccniau's wilL" 

The decision was another evidence of the conGdencc to l>c 
reposed in the honest masses of the country — another proof of 
the capacity of man for self-government. Large bodies of 
men may be deluded, a temporary excitement may even cause 
the masses to err for a time, but the ultimate decision of the 
will of the entire people is correct. The news of Mr. 
Buchanan's election was received with more than ordinary 
rejoicings. It was generally felt, that at least, danger Lad 
been avoided, and the safety of the Union jxjrpetuatcd. 

The result, at all events, was such as to satisfy the dcmo- 
cracv. Tliey had been nearly overwhelmed in most of the 
KorUiern States ; but rennsylvania, Xew Jersey. Indiana, 
Illinois, and California, stood nobly by the banner, which was 

19 



434: LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

unfortunately forsaken by some old democratic states. Mary- 
land aloue, of all her soathern sisters, had refused her vote to 
Mr. Buchanan. She followed, solitary and alone, the fortunes 
of Mr. Fillmore. Mr. Fremont had secured the votes of all 
the Northern States, excepting- those we have mentioned, as 
having gone for Mr. Buchanan, making his electoral vote 114. 
Mr. Buchanan received 114, and Mr. Fillmore 8. Thus was 
the long, and exciting contest decided — thus ended one of the 
most remarkable presidental elections which has ever occurred 
in the history of our country. To the Democratic party it 
was an auspicious event, while to the country it was undoubt- 
edly one of infinite moment. The party had returned to its 
old and excellent rule of electing its first class men to the chief 
magistracy, while the country had a president in whose 
honesty, integrity, and patriotism all could confide. There can 
be no doubt that the personal character of Mr. Buchanan, his 
unblemished integrity, and solid, private worth contributed in 
a great measure to decide the contest. He was regarded as 
an eminently safe man for the position, and one of whom, in all 
respects, the country might feel justly proud. We might 
point the hereditary rulers of the world, indeed the whole 
" divine race of kings," with their lordly titles, to him, and 
say, " Behold the moral and intellectual accomplishments, the 
noble, physical proportions — in a word, all that goes to make 
up the perfect man, and see how far you fall short of our 
republican President, whose proudest title is, that he is tho 
servant of the people!" 

The result of the election, if closely scanned, presents many 
facts which arrest attention. The total vote ihe different 
candidates received in the Northern States was as follows: — • 
Mr. Buchanan, 1.224,750; Mr. Fremont, 1,340,618; and Mr. 
Fillmore, 393,5?:0. The vote of Mr. Fremont was, therefore, 
115,868 over that of Mr. Buchanan. If we recollect, how- 
ever, that the regular abolitionists gave their votes to Mr. 
Fremont, we can readily see where this majority came from. 



THE ELECTION OF MR. DUCnANAN. 435 

In 1852 John P. Hale received, as the candidate of this party, 
157,685 votes. 

If this vote had been given to the reguhir candidate of tho 
party in 185G, as it was in 1852, Mr. Fremont would have had 
less votes in the north than Mr. Buchanan, showing that Mr. 
Fremont is entitled to bis complimentary northern majority 
entirely to the partiality of those who ojteiily declare their 
fixed determination to wage an unrelenting sectional strife. 
If we add the vote of Mr. Fillmore in the North, which, so 
far as it relates to the question of negro "slavery,"' must, at 
all events, be considered as a condemnation of the doctrines of 
Mr. Fremont, we have, even with the figures as they now 
stand, an emphatic majority against him in the Northern 
States of 277,662. Notwithstanding the supposed falling 
off of the democratic strength, Mr. Buchanan received more 
votes in the North than have ever before been given to any 
democratic president, he having 68,237 more than Mr. Pierco 
in 1852. In the Southern States ^Ir. Buchanan received not 
less than 650,000 votes; :Mr. Fillmore about 500,000; and 
Mr. Fremont 1,194. If we add those votes of Mr. Buchanan 
and Mr. Fillmore in the South, to the majority against Mr. 
Fremont in the North, taking out bis vote in the South, wo 
have a sweeping majority of 1,426,468 citizens of these United 
States protesting against the " auti-.<-lavery '' principles as 
enunciated in the '-Republican" platform. The total nuniber 
of votes cast in the entire confederacy was over 4,000.000. 
This is, however, but a very brief glance at many of the inter- 
esting phases which a careful study of the figures of the hito 
election present. It might be shown by tracing localities, that 
" Republicanism " is mainly confined to New Kngiand nud to 
portions of our country, settled principally I'y those who 
have emigrated therefrom. Indeed, it can be proved very 
conclusively, that wherever there exists little or no pmrtical 
knowledge of the negro character and iiabits, there, docs aboli- 
tionism, or the various intermediate shades of opinion which 



436 LIFE AND SEEVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

more or less approach it, flourish and prosper. While in South- 
ern Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, upon the very bor- 
ders of the "slave" States, there is little or none of it to be 
found. 

Immediately after the result of the election was known, 
there was much speculation as to what would be the policy of 
Mr. Buchanan's administration. Nearly all parties were in- 
clined to the opinion that it would be conservative, and cal- 
culated, as far as possible, to harmonize the asperities which 
the severe political agitation through which the country had 
just passed, had provoked. These ideas were foreshadowed by 
Mr. Buchanan himself, shortly after the 4th of November, in 
an address which he delivered to the students of Franklin and 
Marshall College, at Lancaster, who paid him a visit. On 
this occasion, Mr. Buchanan remarked, substantially, that the 
objects of his administration would be to destroy any sec- 
tional party, no matter where it existed, whether in the 
North or in the South, and to restore, if possible, that 
national, fraternal feeling between the different States that had 
existed during the days of the fathers of our Republic. With 
this exception, Mr. Buchanan kept his own counsels until the 
day of his inauguration. Even in the formation of his cabinet 
the most ingenious newspaper correspondents were not able to 
give so authentic intelligence concerning who were to compose 
it, that they did not have to correct themselves the day after 
the " exclusive information" had been published. 

The last session of the thirty-fourth Congress opened on the 
1st of December. The message of Mr. Pierce was remarkable 
for its decided tone, and for the severe animadversions it con- 
tained upon the political principles of the " Republican" party. 
It, of course provoked a long and excited discussion, and it was 
many weeks before the legitimate business of the people was 
much attended to. The " Republicans" repudiated the ultra prin- 
ciples of sectionalism and abolitionism, with which they were 
charged, and claimed only as their distinctive creed the fixed 



THE INAUGUKATIOX CEREifONTTS. 487 

deterrainatiou not to allow the negro to be held in so-cnllod 
elavcry in any future state or territory of the Union. Oii the 
26th of January, wliile Congress was in session, Mr. Unclianan 
made a short trip to Washington, in order to enjoy a free and 
unrestrained interview with his political friends ; ami thns, 
doubtless, to prepare himself for the construction of his cabinet, 
in such a manner as to harmonize all conQicting interesLs, as 
far as such a course would not interfere with the public wel- 
fare. He remained but a few days, when he returned to 
Wheatland, where he continued until Monday, the second day 
of March. On this day, at eight o'clock in the morning, he 
started in a special train for Baltimore. His old friend.s and 
neiglibors turned out with unwonted enthusiasm; and, amid tho 
ringing of bells and the firing of cannon, Mr. Buchanan, who, 
forty-five years before, came among them a poor, friendlc.<!3 
boy, left thera to preside over the destinies, all things con- 
sidered, of the greatest nation on the globe. Every demon- 
stration of respect attended him during the entire progress of 
his journey. The city council of Baltimore gave him a worthy 
reception, and every arrangement had been made in Washing- 
ton to render his inauguration one of the most imposing that 
had ever taken place. The arrangements for the ceremonies 
■were those usually adopted npon snch occasions, though more 
than an ordinary number of the citizen soldiery from various por- 
tions of the Union, under the command of General John A. Quit- 
man, of Mississippi, so gratefully remembered by his countrymen 
for his gallant services in Mexico, contributed to the fdat of the 
proceedings. At one o'clock, p.m., E.x-presidcnt Pierce and 
the President elect, entered the Senate-chamber and proceeded 
with the Senaters, Members of the Supreme Court, tho Foreign 
Ministers, Heads of the Department!?, etc., to the east front 
of the Capitol, where the inauguration ceremonies were con- 
ducted. The crowd assembled here was immense, and a.s soou 
as the enthusiasm which greeted the appearance of Mr. Bach 
anan had subsided, he delivered the following addrcs.'^. 



438 LIFE AJSTD SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHAfTAN. 



MR. BUCHANAN'S INAUGURAL. 

" Fellow-citizens : I appear before you this day to take 
the solemn oath ' that I will faithfully execute the office of the 
President of the United States, and will, to the best of my 
ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States.' 

" In entering upon this great office, I must humbly invoke 
the God of our fathers for wisdom and firmness to execute its 
high and responsible duties in such a manner as to restore 
harmony and ancient friendship among the people of the 
several States, and to preserve our free institutions throughout; 
many generations. Convinced that I owe my election to the 
inherent love for the Constitution and the Union which still 
animates the hearts of the American people, let me earnestly 
ask their powerful support in sustaining all just measures cal- 
culated to perpetuate these, the richest political blessings 
which Heaven has ever bestowed upon any nation. Having 
determined not to become a candidate for re-election, I shall 
have no motive to influence my conduct in administering the 
government except the desire ably and faithfully to serve my 
country, and to live in the grateful memory of my countrymen. 

" We have recently passed through a presidential contest 
in which the passions of our fellow-citizens were excited to the 
highest degree by questions of deep and vital importance; but 
when the people proclaimed their will, the tempest at once 
subsided, and all was calm. 

" The voice of the majority, speaking in the manner pie- 
scribed by the Constitution, was heard, and instant submission 
followed. Our own country could alone have exhibited so 
grand and striking a spectacle of the capacity of man for self- 
government. 

" What a happy conception, then, was it for Congress to 
apply this simple rule — that the will of the majority shall 



TnE INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 439 

shall govern — to tlie settlement of the qiiostion of domestic 
slavery in tlie Territories ! Congress is neither ' to legislate 
slavery into any Territory or State, nor to exclude it tlierc- 
from; but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form 
and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, pub- 
ject only to the Constitution of the United States.' As a 
natural consequence, Congress has, also, prescribed that when 
the Territory of Kansas shall be admitted as a State, it ' shall 
be received into tlie Union, with or without slavery, as their 
constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission.' 

" A difl'erence of opinion has arisen in regard to the point 
of time when the people of a Territory shall decide this ques- 
tion for themselves. 

'•This is, happily, a matter of but little practical import- 
ance. Besides, it is a judicial question, wliich legitimately 
belongs to the Supreme Court of tiie United States, before 
whom it is now pending, and will, it is understood, be speedily 
and finally settled. To their decision, in common .with all 
good citizens, I shall cheerfully submit, whatever this may bo, 
though it has ever been my individual opinion that, under the 
Nebraska-Kansas act, the appropriate period will be when the 
number of actual residents in the Territory shall justify the 
formation of a constitution with a view to its admission as a 
State into the Union. But be this as it may, it is the impi-ra- 
tive and indispensable duty of the government of the United 
States to secure to every resident inhabitant the fr?e and inde- 
pendent expression of his opinion by his vote. This sacred 
right of each individual must be preserved. That being 
accomplished, nothing can be fairer than to leave the peojjle 
of a Territory free from all foreign interference, to decide 
their own destiny for themselves, subject only to the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. 

" The whole territorial question being thus settled upon the 
principle of popular sovereignty— a principle as ancient as 
free government itself— everything of a practical nature ba« 



440 LIFE AND SERA-ICE3 OF JAMES BECnANAK-. 

been decided. Kq other question remains for adjustment 
because all ac^ree tbat, under the Constitution, slavery in the 
States is beyond the reach of any human power, except that 
of the respective States themselves wherein it exists. May we 
not, then hope, that the long agitation on this subject is ap- 
proaching its end, and that the geographical parties to which it 
has given birth, so much dreaded by the Father of his 
Country, will speedily become extinct ? Most happy will it 
be for the country when the public mind shall be diverted from 
this question to others of more pressing and practical import- 
ance. Throughout the whole progress of this agitation, which 
has scarcely known any intermission for more than twenty 
years, whilst it has been productive of no positive good to any 
human being, it has been the prolific source of great evils to 
the master, to the slave, and to the whole country. It has 
alienated and estranged the people of the sister States fron? 
each other, and has even seriously endangered the very exist- 
ence of. the Union. Nor has the danger yet entirely ceased. 
Under our system, there is a remedy for all mere political evils 
in the sound sense and sober judgnient of the people. Time is 
a great corrective. Political sulijects which but a few years 
ago excited and exasperated the public mind, have passed away, 
and are now nearly forgotten. But this question of domestic 
slavery is of far graver importance than any mere political 
question, because, should the agitation continue, it may even- 
tually endanger the personal safety of a large portion of our 
countrymen where the institution exists. In that event, no 
form of government, however admirable in itself, and however 
productive of material benefits, can compensate for the loss of 
peace and domestic security around the family altar. Let 
every Union-loving man, therefore, exert his best influence to 
suppress this agitation, which, since the recent legislation of 
Congress, is without any legitimate object. 

" It is an evil omen of the times that men have undertaken 
to calculate the mere material value of the Union. Reasoned 



THE IXAl-GCRAL AnDRES8. 411 

estimates have been presented of ilie pocuninrj proGts and 
local advantages which would result to (IKTerei.t States and 
sections from its dissolution, and of the comparative injurieg 
which such an event would inflict on other States and sections. 
Even descending to this low and narrow view of the miglilj 
question, all such calculations are at fault. The bare reference 
to a single consideration will be conclusive on this point. Wo 
at present enjoy a free trade throughout our extensive and 
expanding country, such as the world has never witnessed. 
This trade is conducted on railroads and canals — on noltlo 
rivers and arms of the sea — which bind together the North 
and the South, the East and the West of our Confederacy. 
Annihilate this trade, arrest its free progre.>is by the geogra- 
phical lines of jealous and hostile States, and you destroy the 
prosperity and onward march of the whole and every part, 
and involve all in one common ruin. But such considerations, 
important as they are in themselves, sink into insignificance 
when we reflect on the terrilic evils which would result from 
disunion to every portion of the Confederacy — to the North 
not more than to the South, to the East not more than to the 
West. These I shall not attempt to portray ; because I feel 
an humble conOdenoe that the kind Providence which inspired 
onr fathers with wisdom to frame tiie most perfect form of 
government and union ever devised by man will not sufftr it to 
perish until it shall have been peacefully instrumental, by its 
example, in the extension of civil and religious liberty tlirough- 
out the world. 

" Next in importance to the maintenance of tlic Constitutioa 
and the Union is the duty of preserving the government free 
from the taint, or even the suspicion, of corruption. Public 
virtue is the vital spirit of republics ; and lli^tt)^y j)rovcs that 
when this has decayed, and the love of money has u.<:ar|)cd its 
place, although the fniins of free govcrnmesit may rtujuiu for a 
season, the substance has departed for ever. 

" Our present financial condition is without a parallel io 

19* 



442 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAilES BUCHANAN. 

history. No nation has ever before been embarrassed from 
too hirge a surplus in its treasury. This almost necessarily 
gives birth to extravagant legislation. It produces wild 
schemes of expenditure, and begets a race of speculators and 
jobbers, whose ingenuity is exerted in contriving and promot- 
ing expedients to obtain public money. The purity of official 
agents, whether rightfully or wrongfully, is suspected, and the 
character of the government suffers in the estimation of the 
people. This is in itself a very great evil. 

" The natural mode of relief from this embarrassment is to 
appropriate the surplus in the treasury to great national 
objects, for which a clear wari-ant can be found in the Consti- 
tution. Among these I might mention the extinguishment of 
the public debt, a reasonable increase of the navy, which is at 
present inadequate to the protection of our vast tonnage afloat, 
now greater than that of any other nation, as well as to the 
defence of our extended sea-coast. 

" It is beyond all question the true principle that no more 
revenue ought to be collected from the people than the amount 
necessary to defray the expenses of a wise, economical, and 
efficient administration of the government. To reach this 
point it was necessary to resort to a modification of the tariff, 
and this has, I trust, been accomplished in such a manner as to 
do as little injury as may have been practicable to our domes- 
tic manufactures, especially those necessary for the defence of 
the country. Any discrimination against a particular branch, for 
the purpose of benefiting favored corporations, individuals, or 
interests, would have been unjust to the rest of the community, 
and inconsistent with that spirit of fairness and equality which 
ought to govern in the adjustment of a reverme tariff. 

" But the squandering of the public money sinks into com- 
parative insignificance as a temptation to corruption when 
compared with the squandering of the public lands. 

" No nation in the tide of time has ever been blessed with 
60 rich and noble an inheritance as we enjoy in the public 



THE IXAUGUKAL ADDUtSS. 443 

lands. In administering this important trust, whilst it mny bo 
wise to grant portions of tlicra for the iniprovoniont of the 
remainder, yet we should never forget that it is our cartlinal 
policy to reserve these lands, as much as may be, for actual 
settlers, and this at moderate prices. We shall thus not only 
best ))romote the prosperity of the new States and Territories 
by furnishing them a hardy and independent race of honest 
and industrious citizens, but shall secure homes for our chililrco 
and our children's children, as well as for those exiles from 
foreign shores who may seek in this country to in)j)rove their 
condition, and to enjoy the blessings of civil and religious 
liberty. Such emigrants have done much to promote the 
growth and prosperity of the country. They have proved 
faithful both in peace and in war. After becoming citizens, 
they are entitled, under the Constitution and laws, to be 
placed on a perfect equality with native-born citizens ; and in 
this character they should ever be kindly recognized. 

"The federal Constitution is a grant from the States to 
Congress of certain speciGc powers ; and the question whether 
this grant should be liberally or strictly construed, has, more or 
less, divided political parties from the beginning. Without 
entering into the argument, 1 desire to state, at the coinmeuce- 
ment of ray administration, that long c^periencc and observa- 
tion have convinced me that a strict construction of the 
powers of the government is the only true, as well as the only 
safe theory of the Constitution. Whenever in our past his- 
tory doubtful powers have been exercised by Congress, these 
have never failed to produce injurious and unhappy ■ 
qnences. Many such instances might be adduced, if thi- 
the proper occasion. Neither is it necessary for the public 
service to strain the language of the Constitution ; because nil 
the great and useful powers required for a successful udniinis- 
tration of the government, both in peace and in war, hate 
been granted, either in express terms or by the plainest impli- 
catioiL 



444 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES EUCHANAN. 

" Whilst deeply convinced of these truths, I yet consider it 
clear that, under the war-making power, Congress may appro, 
priate money towards the construction of a military road, 
when this is absolutely necessary for the defence of any State 
or Territory of the Union against foreign invasion. Under 
tlie Constitution, Congress has power " to declare war," " to 
raise and support armies," " to provide and miiintain a navy," 
and to call forth the militia to "repel invasions." Thus 
endowed, in an ample manner, with the war-making power, 
the corresponding duty is required that " the United States 
shall protect each of them [the States] against invasion." 
Now, how is it possible to aflbrd this protection to California 
and our Pacific possessions, except by means of a military 
road through the Territories of the United States, over which 
men and munitions of war may be speedily transported from' 
the Atlantic States to meet and to repel the invader ? In the 
eveift of a war with a naval Power much stronger than our 
own, we should then have no other available access to the 
Pacific coast, because such a Power would instantly close the 
route across the isthmus of Central America. It is impossible 
to conceive that, whilst the Constitution has expressly 
required Congress to defend all the States, it should yet deny 
to them, by any fair construction, the only possible means by 
which one of these States can be defended. Besides, the 
government, ever since its origin, has been in the constant 
practice of constructing military roads. It might also be 
wise to consider whether the love for the Union which now 
animates our fellow-citizens on the Pacific coast may not be 
impaired by our neglect or refusal to provide for them, in their 
remote and isolated condition, the only means by which the 
power of the States, on this side of the Rocky Mountains, can 
reach 'them in sufficient time to 'protect' them 'against 
invasion.' I forbear for the present from expressing an 
opinion as to the wisest and most economical mode in which 
the government can lend its aid in accomplishing this great 



TDE INAUGURAL ADDRESS. •} 1 5 

and necessary work. I believe tliat many of tlie difRniltios in 
the way, which now aj^pcar formidable, will, in n preal df^Ti^o, 
vanish as soon as the nearest nntl best route sliall have bn n 
satisfactorily ascertained. 

" It may be proper that, on this occasion, I .shnuid nKikf* 
some brief remarks in regard to our rights and duties as a 
member of the great family of nations. In our intcrcotirso 
with them there are some jjlain princijjles, approved l)y our 
own experience, from which we should never depart. Wc 
ought to cultivate peace, commerce, and friendship with all 
nations ; and this not merely as the best means of promoting 
our own material interests, but in a spirit of Christian benevo- 
lence towards our fellow-men, wherever their lot may be cast. 
Our dijilomacy should be direct and frank, neither seeking to 
obtain more nor accepting less than is our due. We ought to 
cherish a sacred regard for the independence of all nations, 
and never attempt to interfere in the domestic concerns of any, 
unless this shall be imperatively required by the great law of 
self-preservation. To avoid entangling alliam-es has been a 
maxim of our policy ever since the days of Wa.'ihington, and 
its wisdom no one will attempt to dispute. In short, we ought 
to do justice, in a kindly spirit, to all nations, and require jus- 
tice from them in return. 

" It is our glory that, whilst other nations have extended 
their dominions by the sword, we have never acquireil any 
territory except by fair purchase, or, as in the case of Texas, 
by the voluntary determination of a brave, kindred, and inde- 
pendent people to blend their destinies with our own. Kvcn 
our acquisitions from Mexico form no exception. Unwilling to 
take advantage of the fortune of war against a si.<ter Repub- 
lic, we purchased lhe.se jiossessions, under the treaty of jx-acc, 
for a sum which was considered at the time a fair equivulenl. 
Our past history forbids that we shall in the future acquire 
territory, unless this be sanctioned by the laws of ju.slice and 
honor. Acting on this principle, no nation will hare a right 



446 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

to interfere or to complain if, in the progress of events, we 
shall still further extend our possessions. Hitherto, in all our 
acquisitions, the people, under the protection of the American 
fla<r, have enjoyed civil and religious liberty, as well as equal 
and just laws, and have been contented, prosperous, and 
happ}'. Their trade with the rest of the world has rapidly 
increased ; and thus every commercial nation has shared 
largely in their successful progress. 

" I shall now proceed to take the oath prescribed by the 
Constitution, whilst humbly invoking the blessing of Divine 
Providence on this great people. 

" James Buchanax. 

"Washington Citt, Uh March, 185Y." 

After the reading of the Inaugural the venerable Chief 
Justice Taney administered the oath of ofiSce, and the boom- 
ing of cannon and the cheers of the assembled thousands 
proclaimed that James Buchanan was President of the United 
States. The will of the people had been consummated — their 
sovereignty acknowledged and their decision recognized. 

On the sixth Mr. Buchanan sent to the Senate, which had 
been convened for executive session, the names of those whom 
he had selected as members of his cabinet. They were duly 
confirmed, and were as follows : Lewis Cass, of Michigan, 
Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Secretary of 
the Treasury ; John Buchanan Floyd, of Virginia, Secretary 
of "War ; Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, Secretary of the 
Interior ; Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, Secretary of the 
Navy : Aaron Tenable Brown, of Tennessee, Postmaster- 
General ; Jeremiah Sullivan Black of Pennsylvania, Attorney- 
General. These individuals are nearly all distinguished for 
eminent services to their country, and enjoy in a remarkable 
degree the confidence and respect of their fellow-citizens. 



SKETCHES OF THE CAnixnT OFFICERS. 417 

Gex. Cass is well known at home and abroad as n stntosman 
of great experience, devoted passionately to the interests of 
his country, and as perfectly intimate with Pliiropean poli- 
tics as with those of the United States. His life is identified 
with the history of his country for inore than half a century, 
anil, though at the advanced age of seventy-five, he haa 
such an astonishing degree of physical and intellectual vigor, 
that in his arduous duties on "the stump '' during the late 
presidential campaign, he showed a power of endurance of 
which men half his age might feel justly proud. Mr. Ca.ss is 
a native of Xew Hampshire, is of revolutionary lineage, ami 
himself occupied a conspicuous position in the War with Great 
Britain in 1812. On the field he has distinguished himself for 
gallantry, and in the civil service has ever shown himself a 
watchful and jealous guardian of the welfare of his country. 
He rose to the rank of Brigadier-General in the army, and has 
occupied subsequently the positions of Governor of Michigan, 
Secretary of War under Gen. Jackson, Minister to France, 
and Senator from the State of Michigan, for several terms. 
There seemed to be no man whom Mr. Buchanan could more 
appropriately call to the position of Secretary of State, and 
certainly there was none who would have given so much gene- 
ral satisfaction. 



Mr. Howell Cobb, of Georgia, the Secretary of the Trca- 
surv, is about forty years of age. He entered Congress in 
1842, and rose rapidly as a vigorous debater, an able and 
expert tactician and^ parliamentary leader. He wa.i on the 
floor of the House during some of the most e.xciting and interest- 
ing periods of our history, and in 1850 especially distingnislird 
hims.df in behalf of what are known as the Compromi.se Mca- 
sures of that year. His integrity is proverbial ; hi.s j)€rsonal 
character spotles-s and he must prove an efDcicnt ^nd able 
support to Mr. Buchanan's administration. 



448 LIFE AND SEE VICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Mr. John B. Floyd, of Virginia, the Secretary of War, has 
long been known as a prominent politician of his State. He 
is about fifty years of age, has been Governor of Yirginia, but 
has never before held a national office. He is a man of strong 
mind, of real ability, and of very decided political opinions. 
He is an orator of great power and effectiveness, though he 
has rather shunned than courted a conspicuous position. He 
brings to the discharge of the duties of his office unsurpassed 
energy of character and spotless integrity. He cannot fail to 
exert jjrreat influence in the Cabinet. 



Mr. Jacob Thompsox, of Mississippi, the Secretary of the 
Interior, has not been in public life since 1850. Previous to 
that period he had been a member of the House of Represen- 
tatives during several Congresses, and had distinguished him- 
self as a faithful representative, an eloquent speaker, and a 
man of more than ordinary practical powers. He is about 
forty years of age, and is eminently qualified for the peculiar 
duties of his position. 



Mr. Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, the Secretary of the 
Navy, has been in political life for a quarter of a century. He 
was first elected to Congress in 1837, where he distinguished 
himself as an active and useful member. In 1848, about the 
close of Mr. Polk's administration, he held the office of Attor- 
ney-General, with credit to himself, and with honor to his 
country. In 1852, he was chosen United States Senator from 
Connecticut, which office he held up to the time he was 
invited by Mr. Buchanan to a seat in his Cabinet. During the 
discussion of the recent political issues, Mr. Toucey has stood 
forth a bold chanii)ion fur the right in the face of temporary 
unpopularity at home. He is about sixty-five years of age, of 
fine attainments, and of solid, substantial worth. 



SKETCHES OF THE CABINET OFFICERS. 4 4 'J 

Mr. Aaron Y. Browx, of Tennessee, the ros'mtister-Octifral 
is one of the most marked men in Mr. Buchaimn'.s Cahinct. Ftny 
men have impressed tlieir politieal views more gcneniily upon 
the people than Mr. Brown. He is about sixty years of a^'e, 
entered Congress in 1840, where he sat five years, distinsiuish- 
ing liimself as one of the most able and indefatij^ahlo members. 
In 1845 he was elected Governor of Tennessee, bnt- since the 
e.\i)iration of the term of tliat office, he has held no public 
position. His democracy is of the purest kind, and his ideaH 
have received great currency from the fact that he is the 
author of the Baltimore platform of principles of 1852, which 
has become the magna charla of the Democratic party. He 
is an ornament to the Cabinet, and contributes csseutiully to 
its strength. 



Mr. Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, the Attorney- 
General, is one of the most popular men of his State. He is 
distinguished for more than ordinary abilities, and is perfectly 
familiar with the duties appertaining to his oEfice. Wlicu 
called by Mr. Buchanan to his present post, he occupied 
the position of Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 
to which office he had been twice elected, the last time run- 
ning twenty thousand ahead of his ticket. He is known as a 
democrat of the soundest kind, and as one of the most promis- 
ing men in the country. 



Such is a brief account of the personnel of Mr. Bachanan'3 
constitutional advisers. He has instituted his government in 
the spirit Avliich animated him in accepting the nomination for 
President, and in accordance with the language in his letter of 
acceptance, when he pledged himself, should he be elected, to 
use all the power he conBtitutionally possessed, " to restore 
harmony among the States." Ultra the complexion of bis 



450 LIFE AND SERVICES OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Cabinet is not, yet no one fears that, composed of such men, it 
will ever barter away substantial rights for mere temporary 
convenience, or compromise the interests of the country to a 
time-serving expediency. Of course, it cannot hope to escape 
the attacks of the active, intelligent, and unrelenting opposi- 
tion party of the country, but that it will command the 
respect, confidence, and support of a large majority of his 
countrymen we cannot doubt. The Democratic party are par- 
ticularly bound to sustain it, for it evidently owes more to Mr, 
Buchanan than Mr. Buchanan can possibly owe to that. 
Under the peculiar circumstances it would have been just 
about impossible for it to have elected any other man. With 
the distinct announcement that he will occupy the presidential 
ofSce but a single term, his enemies cannot reproach him with 
seeking a re-nomination, and his course can only be influenced 
by an honest desire to advance the interests of the people, and, 
as he himself expresses it, " to live in the grateful memory of 
his countrymen." Thus fairly launched, with the future before 
it, we take leave of Mr. Buchanan's administration, not doubt- 
ing that the chapter which shall record its acts, will be an 
honorable one in the history of our country ; and with the 
honest conviction that the distinguished man who presides 
over its destinies, will give renewed evidence of his profound 
statesmanship, scrupulous integrity, and unsullied patriotism. 



THE END. 



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